The Royal Protector
by Blazing Inferno 65
Summary: Worlds greatest teacher, Royal Protector, Immortal. All of these are titles to a man known simply as J. One night, he and his current student was pulled into Equestria. There, he makes a name for himself, serving under Equestria's royalty. When an entity that's threatened Equestria since its beginning appears, will J protect Equestria or will he fail to uphold his title.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I, in no way, own the MLP:FIM series. It is property of Lauran Faust and Hasbro Inc.**

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The Royal Protector

Prologue

Little is known about the man known as J. His origin is unknown as well as his full name. He just turned up in a town one day and stayed there. He refused to answer any questions that concerned where he was before he came here or why he is here. He simply tells them that he was drawn to this town for an unknown reason and left it at that. Later it was found out that he about 2000 years old yet still had a healthy appearance. This only brought in a new tide of questions.

Some thought he had found the secret to eternal youth. They would try to get him to tell them by force, bad idea. Most who tried this ended up disappearing and was never seen again. People who were more religious thought that he was either an angel that was there to bring them to salvation or a demon trying to lure them into the fiery depths of Hell. However, being immortal is not was he is most known for. He was most known for his two jobs. Being a teacher and being a personal bodyguard to royalty.

Over his years he had served many kings and taught many people. The most he would reveal is back to the times of the Greeks. He served under Alexander the Great until his death. J began to roam the Earth serving kings and rulers from time to time. This did not stop him from serving under very corrupt leaders. The ones that were corrupt or just plain evil would die in the most bizarre ways. Ranging from death by a nosebleed caused by extreme partying, being cooked and eaten by guest at a diner party, and possibly the most ridiculous of them all, being suffocated by coats and jackets.

While being known for his skills as a protector, he is also known for being an excellent teacher. Many that he taught went on to become great men and women in society. Most of his students would spend a good portion of their young adult life with J learning the most they could of their trade which could range anywhere from banking, politics, war, medicine, it even extended into magic. There has only been one student to come to him for the instruction on the use of magic, it is his current student, Isabel Hawk.

She was the daughter of a well known Duke of a land not too far from were J had lived. Isabel had abandoned her life of royalty to learn what she always wanted to, magic. However, magic was looked down upon at this time, always being affiliated with witches and warlocks. When Isabel's father found out, he was not too happy. He sent the whole guard of the land to retrieve her, they didn't return.

Isabel has been J's student for 9 years now, learning everything she could about magic. They have been through thick and thin together. Everywhere J went, Isabel was always a couple steps behind him. Every king that J served under in those 9 years, Isabel was with him. Every battle he had been in, Isabel always had his back. They accomplished many feats, saving common men from bandits to stopping full on war. They had made powerful friends and powerful enemies.

One day, both J and Isabel disappeared completely. They were going to meet a friend they had made in their travels, an old king that was attacked by highwaymen while traveling the country road. He was saved when J seemed to come out of nowhere and fight them off with ease. He had recently invited them to a formal ball for protection and honestly, for them to relax a bit. The path J plotted to take seemed to put them into a strange and frighting place, The Yree Forest.

This forest was not normal, it was far from normal, it was completely supernatural. Most of the people who wondered into the Yree were never seen again. It's been said that 1000 years ago, before J found his way into that town, an entire army of 10,000 men went missing. There was no trace that they had even gone through the Yree but they were never seen again.

Search parties were established to find J and Isabel but they could found no evidence of them being there. They said that the Yree had gotten them and no one escapes the Yree. One has to wonder, did J and Isabel really disappear from this place or are they somewhere else?

As one of J's close friends, I find it hard to believe that he would abandon the ones he cares about. Honestly, I think that he is still somewhere, but he is no here. No matter how many times I've heard people tell me that he was dead, I would simply push them away. I know J is still alive, nothing could keep that man down. If he broke every bone in his body protecting someone he cared about or even a stranger, he would still get up. That man is to stubborn to let death take him. I just hope that where ever he is now, he's still living strong.

Even now in my old age I can still remember all that he said to me when we first meet. He told me to always have hope because it's the only thing that mankind has in the darkest of time. I have hope, hope that he will never be forgotten. I have personally seen to it that his name would not be forgotten. I've arranged ceremonies, statues, even memorials to commemorate his many accomplishments. His name will be remembered in my generation and hopefully the generation after that and so on and so forth. He was a good man, a good teacher and great friend. His name will live on. He will be forever known as J, The Royal Protector.

Signed

King Trenton

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**Fun**** Fact**

Those weird death described in paragraph 3 all actually happened. Here is the rulers or warlords that it happened to as it was mentioned.

Attila the Hun, György Dózsa of Hungary, and Draco of Greece.

All these men were real rulers and those deaths earlier where theirs as ridiculous as it seems.

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Also, check my profile for a little more info on the story and feel free to leave a review or comment. Don't hesitate to point out my mistakes, it helps me grow as a writer and you know what they say, the best gift a reader can give the writer is a well rounded review.


	2. Chapter 1

The Royal Protector

Chapter 1

The sound of metal hitting metal was dominate in the night sky. It was coming from a cabin on the outskirts of the town of Vamoria. Anyone in the town could tell you who lived in this cabin. It was none other than J and Isabel Hawk. One would say that this would be one of their late night teaching sessions but tonight was different. Tonight, they were going to visit one of J's old friends, a man named King Trenton. They planned to leave that night for his castle.

Inside the cabin there was a big room with a forge in the middle. There stood Isabel Hawk in all of her beauty. She was quite tall for a woman, she was about six feet tall. Her features could be described as incredible. She had wavy black hair that seemed to gently blow in an imaginary breeze. While she forged she was in some sort of trance. Like everything she made in that forge was going to be the best thing she ever made, usually it is.

Across from were Isabel stood, a huge man sat, the one and only J. He was quite a sight to see. He had scars all on his face and neck and probably his chest as well. A man can not live for eons and not be unscathed. He stared at the way Isabel worked the forge. In the nine years that they have been teacher and student, she had become the best forger he ever saw. She was just as equal in magic, almost nearing her teacher in skill. He recalled one time were Isabel had turned a man inside out and back just for insulting her. He laughed, the face he had was priceless, J had never seen someone run away so quickly. J looked up and noticed that Isabel was done with her work. She dropped the piece of metal in a wooden box carefully and got a satisfying hissing sound in return.

After a minute, J reached his hand into the box and pulled out the piece of metal. It was a sword forged to perfection.

"Another perfect craft by the incredible Isabel Hawk." J said smiling.

"What can I say, I learned from the best." Isabel said quickly looking over her work while she set it into a handle.

"Your flattery is no use here Isabel." snorted J. "Anyways are you almost done, I would like to be at Trenton's castle by morning."

Isabel laughed mirthfully. "You seem so eager to get to him, people might get the wrong idea."

J groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose then removed his hand smiling. "Do you need to be reminded of that duchess that wanted to marry you and you almost accepted."

Isabel reddened, "You know as well as I that she placed a spell on me!"

"Whatever you say my dear student, go get your stuff, we're leaving."

Isabel simply nodded and disappeared into another room to gather her equipment for the trip. J turned and walked into his room and shut the door. His room was covered in things he had collected over his life. A spartan shield, scrolls from the Library of Alexandria, even swords of kings he had served under. However, he wasn't there to admire his extensive collection of memorabilia. J walked over to the wall near his bed and put his hand on the wall. Both his hand and the wall started to glow and it then disappeared. It was a handy little spell he had invented to hide his equipment.

Inside was a staircase that went down. J followed it and came upon a giant vault door. He had it installed when he first moved into the town. He put his hand against the vault door and it began glow like the wall. Immediately, it swung up to reveal row after row of swords, maces, whips, daggers, armor, you name it, it was probably there. He walked past the rows until he found a room attached to the armory. Inside were four items, four items that he treasured greatly. Inside was a cloak, two daggers and a long sword.

Each item had a story of it's own and each unique in it's own way. All items brought back memories, some of blood and great battle and some of great pain. They had been with him for many battles and wars. It was rare that he entered a fight without one of these items one his person. He put the daggers holsters at his waist and inserted the daggers in their appropriate holsters. He then slipped his cloak on which covered everything from his head to his legs only leaving his feet visible. To top it off, he had enchanted the cloak with a shadow spell so that every time his hood is up it would look like you were staring into complete darkness. He then grabbed his longsword, put it in it's sheath and secured it upon his back. He then exited the armory, locking the vault and put the wall back.

Upon returning to the main room of the cabin, J found Isabel waiting for him. She was now wearing a leather cuirass with a suit of chain mail underneath. She had the sword she had just forged strapped to her back and a pair of heavyset gloves in case she lost her sword.

"Are you ready." said J as he picked up a lantern to help navigate the dark landscape.

Isabel gave a quick sigh, "As ready as I'll ever be."

J nodded and both walked out of the cabin. J locked the front door and they went on their way.

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After about a couple hours of walking, the duo stopped for a break. J quickly checked his surroundings and didn't like what he found. They were in a forest which should be full of wild life but nothing stirred. Not even the wolves were howling tonight. J then turned his attention to the moon, he noticed it was being covered in dark clouds. He wanted to shrug these happenings off as mere coincidence but he has lived for far too long and seen way too many things to simply let this go.

He quickly made his way over to Isabel who was sitting on a rotting log.

"We must make haste Isabel, there is something unsettling about this forest."

Isabel quickly stood up, "I agree, the owls and crickets have yet to make noise and it's pretty late at night."

"We should leave this forest and maybe find a different route."

"I agree." said Isabel as they both turned to head back. Instead of the forest path, they were met with a thick patch of fog that seemed to in gulf the whole forest.

J sighed lightly, "Through the forest it is then."

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As they walked deeper into the forest, the sky grew restless. Thunder and lightning filled the nighttime sky with a symphony of booms and cracks. What was weird is that there was no rain. Through all of the loud booms and cracks, no rainfall was felt. J felt even more worried now.

"Isabel!" yelled J over the sounds of the coming storm. "I think something is wrong with this forest!"

"You think!" yelled Isabel with a hint of sarcasm.

"We need to leave before anything dangerous happen..."

Almost on que, a bolt of lightning struck the ground next to J's feet. Instead of leaving a black char on the ground, the bolt left a yellow drawing in the shape of a rune. J moved closer to try to observe it and see what kind of rune it was. He was stopped when another bolt of lightning struck again, but this time it was a couple feet to his left. Suddenly, more bolts started to strike and leave more runes. It stopped when they were both surrounded by runes.

J and Isabel were now back to back with their weapons drawn. They both were ready for the enemy that was waiting to strike. That enemy never showed. After some time the storm calmed but the runes stayed. J sled his longsword back into it's holster and quickly made his way over to one of the runes. He looked them over and didn't even recognize what they were. He knew all types of runes ranging for Viking Runes to Orlanthi Runes. He knew some Nordic and old Germanic Futhark. These however, were unlike anything that he has ever seen. His studies were interrupted by a terrified Isabel.

"What's the problem." J asked without looking away from the rune.

"L..l..look." Isabel said weakly.

Isabel's reaction is what caught J's attention. She rarely got scared and when she did, it was always from something bad. J brought his head up slowly and looked at what Isabel was pointing at. What he saw brought him to his feet and he walked over to Isabel. The thing that was standing in front of them was a giant sphere the same color of the runes on the ground. J could feel the magic radiating off of it, whatever it was. J wanted to get closer but that interest was diminished when one of the runes shot a beam at the sphere. Slowly each rune started to do the same until they were all connected to the sphere. The sphere started to glow brighter and pulsate. J immediately began to panic, he knew it was going to cause some kind of damage if it kept doing that. He then turned to Isabel.

"Run, now!"

They both turned and dashed towards the direction they came from. It was too late, the sphere got brighter and pulsated faster and then let out a blinding yellow light that slowly engulfed the two. The last thing J remembers was a slight falling sensation and darkness.

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**Whelp, thats chapter 1 for yea.**

**Anyways, I changed my update dates for only Mondays to Mondays and Thursdays. So a new chapter will be uploaded tomorrow hopefully and then I'll follow the updating plan.**

**Please feel free to leave a comment or review. Point out my mistakes or point out the parts you like.**

**Well, see everypony later.**


	3. Chapter 2

The Royal Protector

Chapter 2

Twilight Sparkle was sitting on her balcony late at night enjoying the bright glow of Luna's moon. Her week was incredibly hectic. On top of the day to day actives she did like furthering her studies or catching up on a good book, she still found time to be with her friends and write the occasional letter to her teacher, Princess Celestia, on the magics of friendship. This week was full of complicated problems that took complicated thinking to resolve. It ranged from Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel, running off into the Everfree forest to a feral Manticore wondering into town. All of these problems took a lot out of the mare and now she could sit back and enjoy one of more favorite activities, Stargazing.

Currently Twilight was viewing the Big Dipper in the Ursa Major constellation, it was especially bright tonight for some reason. As she continued to gaze upon the star formation, something in particular caught her eye. There were two bright stars that didn't seem to belong. As she stared at the out of place stars, the started to pulsate and grow brighter. They got so bright that Twilight could barely look at them. Suddenly they started to get bigger. What was happening, why were they getting bigger? That question was answered with a sudden outburst.

"They're falling from the sky!" yelled the young mare probably waking up half of Ponyville.

She had to do something, she couldn't stop a star from falling, only the princesses would have enough power to stop a star from falling. Twilight looked up in despair and wished for the best. As if her wish was granted, both stars made a sudden turn and landed with a loud thud in the Everfree forest. Twilight was stunned, she was not sure of what just happened. Instinctively she had to write to Princess Celestia and inform her of this tide of events. Twilight got up from her spot on the balcony and ran through her house.

"Spike, Spike where are you!" she yelled trying to find her assistant.

A certain purple and green dragon walked up to her.

"What is it Twilight, it pretty late." said the small dragon while giving a small yawn and rubbing his eyes.

"This is important Spike, I just watched two stars fall from the sky and land in the Everfree. The princesses must be informed of this."

"Twilight, I'm sure the princesses are already on top of..."

Spike was cut short by a loud gurgling noise. The noise then manifested into a burp. A letter magically appeared out of the mouth of the baby dragon.

"I guess you were right Spike." muttered Twilight softly as she unraveled the scroll with her magic.

_Dear My most faithful student Twilight Sparkle_

_ I'm am sure you have noticed the phenomenon that occurred recently and would like to express your concern. Honestly, I would like to say that this way just a couple stars falling from the sky but it seems to be much more. When the two "stars" neared our great land both Luna and myself felt two great powers, one that rivaled mine and one far greater. By the time you receive this letter, I will have already deployed the guard. However, I would like you to meet me on the edge of the Everfree forest along with Luna, your brother Shining Armor, and myself. We need to make sure that whatever landed in the Everfree is not a threat to Equestria. _

_Your loving teacher,_

_Princess Celestia_

_P.S. Tell no other pony about what has happened, I would like to keep the panic to a minimum._

Twilight closed the scroll and placed it down. She was both relived and horrified. She was relived that nopony was hurt but she was horrified that whatever just fell into that accursed forest was equal to and more powerful then Celestia herself. Twilight rubbed her eyes and yawned silently. Spike had gone back to bed so she might go to bed as well, tomorrow was going to be a big day.

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Twilight woke up and quickly got ready. She couldn't be late for her meeting with the princesses and her brother. She quickly wrote a note to Spike saying that she would be out for the day. She laid the note on the table in her kitchen and walked out the door.

After about twenty minutes of walking Twilight was finally caught sight of a certain white Alicorn.

"Princess Celestia!" yelled Twilight as she broke into a run to greet her teacher.

"You made it Twilight." said Celestia calmly. "Are you ready?"

Twilight quickly nodded and looked over. She saw her brother and Princess Luna standing side by side. Celestia walked over to Shining Armor.

"Tell us the guards plan Shining." spoke Celestia with authority.

Shining gave a nodded and began to recall the plan. "For now we have to stick to Earth pony infantry because the Pegasi won't be able to see through the canopy of the forest and the Unicorns were ordered to stay in Canterlot and protect the city from any dangers that lurk."

Celestia gave an understanding smile. "That is a good plan Shining, have your Infantry sweep the forest carefully, no need for unnecessary causalities today." Celestia then began to lay her plan down. "I want you, Twilight and a couple of your best guards to go and in the section of the Everfree that contains the old castle ruins. My sister and I will stay on this side of the forest to make sure nothing dangerous passes."

Shining and Twilight, along with a couple of guard started to head into the Everfree. Celestia called out one more time.

"Be careful and good luck my little ponies!"

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J woke with a jolt, his whole body was in pain. His joints ached while his head throbbed. It felt like a bad hangover but clearly that wasn't the reason. He started to recall the events that happened awhile ago.

'I wonder what caused that weird occurrence last night.' J thought to himself while sitting up.

He looked around and notice it was day time. How long was he out? He quickly got to his feet but lost his balance and fell straight back.

"Dammit!" he yelled while holding the back of his head. If he didn't have a headache before, he would defiantly have one now.

After a few pain filled throbs, he calmed down and tried to get back on his feet. This time he found his balance and managed to stay upright. One of the first things he noticed was the absence of his student, Isabel. He walked forward a bit and looked back. In the ground where he woke up was a crater. He started to think about what happened last night and how he could of caused that. He then looked up.

"Did I fall from the sky?"

Instantly, J felt for his equipment. He still had his cloak on and it didn't seem to be torn anywhere. He felt at his waist and confirmed that both of his daggers were still in their holsters. He then tried to grab for his longsword but could not find it. It seemed that it was the only thing lost, well that and Isabel. J sighed lightly, he actually liked that sword but it didn't matter now, finding Isabel was number one on his list.

"Isabel!" called J. "Isabel are you here!?"

J continued to call for minutes but got frustrated when no one answered. He gave up and calling and started to walk deeper into the forest. After a few minutes of walking, J felt confident he would find Isabel. He started to see signs of something crashing through the forest. There were broken limbs and skid marks on the ground. He eventually came across a crater similar to the one he woke up in. It had to be Isabel, who else could it be? J bent down and spoke more calm but firm.

"Isabel, are you down there?"

After a second which seemed like an eternity, J got a reply.

"J is that you." he heard from the crater.

"Yes it is me Isabel, we are safe for now, come one out so we can find out where we are."

J turned his back for a minute as he heard Isabel climb out of the crater. He noticed something was different however. There was a slight clip-clop noise whenever Isabel took a step. Eventually J's curiosity got the better of him and he turned around to see Isabel.

"Oh dear God..." J's mouth was slightly open at the sight of Isabel. She had been turned into a horse creature, no, it's not a horse, she had a different body style, she looked more like a pony. He looked up and saw a horn on her head. She was very different from the ponies he remembers. Instead of a mane and a tail, she just had what looked to be a veil of black magical energy there. Yeah, she was completely different.

After a long silence, Isabel spoke up.

"OK, I know I'm a pony-horse thing but what do I look like from your view?"

J tried to compose himself to answer Isabel's question. Finally after a minute, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Well." began J. "You are almost my height like you were when you were human. You have an aqua color coat and a black mane and tail. Both your mane and tail seem to be made out of some magic of some sort. Finally, you have a horn on your head."

Isabel looked stunned, she had figured out that she was a horse-pony thing but she didn't know this much about her new body. It was almost too much to take in at once. She noticed a small stream nearby and trotted over to it. She could see her reflection in the water. J's description was incredibly accurate. Isabel then looked to the lower part of her body and was shocked at the things she found.

"I have wings!" Isabel said in a fan girlish shriek. She looked at her back for a few seconds and then looked at J. "How do they work?"

J merely shrugged and noticed one more thing. "You also have a tattoo on your ass." He said calmly.

"What?" Isabel looked back and saw it as clear as day. It was kinda hard to get a good look at it from her angle.

"What does it look like?" She called to J.

J walked over to her and bent down. After a few moments he spoke.

"It is a well detailed picture of two swords crossing and a rune circle as the background. It is well detailed to the point that the runes in the circle are actually readable." J then put his fingers to his chin. "I wonder..." He didn't complete the thought but instead ran his finger across the picture. He heard a small gasp from Isabel followed by another noise.

*** POMF ***

J slowly brought his eyes up to Isabel. Her wings were fully extended.

Isabel looked over, her face getting redder by the second.

"Its not what it looks like." She exclaimed with a little shyness.

"Oh really now?" said J sarcastically.

After a few awkward moments and failed attempts by Isabel to get her wings down, J knew what had to be done.

"I think I have a solution to your predicament." He said.

Isabel looked at him confusedly. "What would that be?" She said as she followed J's glare until it hit the stream. "Don't even think about it."

"Too late." said J loudly as he picked up the pony version of Isabel with her wings still fully extended and tossed her into the stream. The way her limbs flailed as she flew through the air towards the water was certainly a sight to see. She then made contact with the water and not ever two seconds later she resurfaced. Her wings were back to normal and she started to swim over to the bank.

"T..t..t.t..this w.w.w. .water f.f.f.f.f.f. . .frezzeing." Isabel said as she shook a little.

"Well, it looks like that solved your little problem, you many thank me now." Said J jokingly.

Isabel returned the expression with a grim frown. "J.j.j. . .get m.m. . .out of t.t.t. .this d.d. ."

J laughed a little and bent down to help Isabel. He grabbed her by one of her hooves and helped her out of the stream. She stood close to J and shook like a dog to get the water out of her coat. It seemed to work because must of it seemed to leave her body and land on mine as I realized how cold the water actually was.

J gently rubbed the back of his head and laughed a chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't know that the water was that cold but it seemed to work."

Isabel returned the comment with a low growl followed by a couple loud snorts. J put his hands in front of him trying to calm Isabel.

"Easy, it was just to help." J looked over to his left and notice a small dirt pathway going into the forest. He pointed to the path. "Look, we can head down that path and hopefully find the population of this land."

Isabel simply nodded and walked past J with her her head held up, her nose up and her posture straight. "I'll get you back tenfold J, you best not forget about this because I certainly won't anytime soon."

J gulped, usually when Isabel got revenge on someone it was always ether extremely embarrassing or extremely painfully for the one on the wrong side of Isabel's wrath. He shook his head to clear the thought out of his head and followed Isabel down the path.

* * *

Twilight, Shining Armor and the guard ponies that they brought with them had only been walking for several minutes when they found evidence of something falling through the forest. It wasn't long until they found the crater that was made by Isabel. All five of the ponies surrounded the crater and stood there until Twilight spoke up.

"I can literally feel the magic radiating off this spot and I have to say, it is indeed powerful, its either equal to or a little less powerful than Princess Celestia." Twilight then started to turn pale with horror. "Its also pony magic so that means it's not a unicorn, it's another Alicorn."

The information Twilight had just shared with the other took a while to sink in. Shining Armor was the first to speak after the silence.

"We should keep going and see if we can find anything else."

After a few nervous nods the five ponies being Twilight, Shining Armor and three earth pony guards kept walking until they found a second crater that was a little bigger than the last. As they approached, Twilight ran forward to examine the crater but was disappointed to find it empty.

What is it Twilight?" Asked Shining.

"The power coming from this spot is incredibly powerful, it is easily two time more powerful then Celestia. Another thing to add is that it's unlike any magic I've ever felt. Whatever it is, it's not a pony."

That last sentence made everypony jump back in fear. However, the tension was broken when one of the guards pointed out a soft silver glint coming from the treeline. All the ponies started to carefully make their way over to the item in question. It was about 150 feet away from the crater. When they all got to the item, they all gasped. Before them stood a huge sword. It had to be at least as tall as Celestia herself.

Shining immediately turned to one of the guards with them. "Go find the Princesses and tell them that we have found evidence of a possible Alicorn and a mysterious creature that is probably armed." The guard gave a salute and sped of the way they came.

Shining sighed and looked around and found a dirt path. He pointed to the path, "Let's follow that path till we hit the old castle ruins, if we don't find anymore evidence then we will know that whatever these things are have gone towards either Ponyville or Canterlot."

The two guard ponies nodded, Shining looked at Twilight who nodded slightly and got to her feet. Shining turned and started to follow the dirt path hoping that it would reveal more evidence of this creatures. Hopefully it won't come to violence.

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**If your saying to yourself "Man, this chapter has no action in it what so ever,"don't be so down. The next chapter will be full of face punching, bone breaking badassary.**

**I would like to thank Apollyon602, BalisticBrony and KeelosPrower15 for favoriting my story and ****Ecomonococo for reviewing, twice. Honestly, I thought that it was going to take some time before people started to like the story. Shows you how wrong I was at the time.**

**Anyways, feel free to leave a comment or tell me if like the story so far. Point out my mistakes as well, it will make me a better writer.**

**See you guys Monday.**


	4. Chapter 3

The Royal Protector

Chapter 3

J and Isabel slowly made their way down the dirt path. Since Isabel was not use to her new body, she had to learn how to walk more then thirty steps without tripping over her legs. After solving that conflict, J and Isabel found themselves in a silence. Isabel decided to break it.

"What do you think happened to us last night?" asked Isabel while looking at J.

"I have no idea, those runes left by that lightning was unlike anything that I have seen. I wonder if they were casted by someone else."

Isabel shook her head, "You would have sensed someone using that kind of magic but maybe the one who casted it wasn't in the forest with us."

J let that statement sink in and allowed another long silence take place.

'I think Isabel is right, the caster might not have been in the forest but that still leaves many questions. I've been alive for a good 2000 years and I've never experienced that kind of magic, it seemed almost unearthly.'

As J continued to think, his train of thought was interrupted by Isabel once again.

"I wonder what happened to my equipment, I really liked that sword."

J chuckled, "I lost my sword as well but I still have my daggers."

"At least you got to keep your stuff, when I woke up, I thought I was naked but it turns out I was just morphed into a horse-pony thing with a horn and wings."

J rolled his eyes, "Let me go ahead and tell you something Isabel, you're a pony, not a horse, not a horse-pony thing, you're a pony."

"How do you know that?" Asked Isabel as she looked back at J.

"I've been around a long time Isabel, I know a horse from a pony when I see one. However, you look like no pony I've ever seen. I think you look like that because the magic that you contain in your body morphed the form somehow."

Isabel looked around and returned her gaze to J, "I wonder what the people of this land will think when they see a talking pony with a horn, wings, and an eternal mane that is ink black."

J snorted, "We probably don't need to interact with the locals of this land until we know who they are. It would be bad for us to wonder into a town full of cannibals."

Isabel giggled and continued to walk. As they walked, the landscape began to become a little rough. The dirt path started to shrink until there was no path at all. The tree started to look like they were burnt or dead and the grass turned a shade of light brown. All in all, the scenery was now a little depressing. As they walked farther into the dead forest, J noticed a large rock formation that cleared the canopy of the forest. He gently nudged Isabel and stopped walking.

"Hey Isabel you see that huge rock formation over there?" He asked keeping his eyes on the rock.

"Yeah, what about it?" Isabel said looking confused.

"I'm going to see if I can get to the top, it looks like it clears the canopy of the forest. I will be able to see how big this forest is and hopefully I'll be able to spot some buildings or maybe people." He then looked at Isabel. "I need you to stay close to this rock and wait for me, can you do that?"

Isabel looked at J with a frown. "What do you think I am, a child?"

J smiled, "Great, I'll take that as a yes."

J then took a step towards the rock and started his climb. After about ten minutes of climbing, Isabel watched J pull himself on to the top of the rock and disappear from sight.

* * *

Twilight and Shining followed the two guards who were walking a couple paces ahead of them. Twilight had a concerned look on her face and kept looking out into the forest. After this went on for a couple minutes, Shining spoke up.

"What's bugging you Twiley?" Asked Shining while watching her.

Twilight looked at Shining and back to the forest. "I've been thinking, what if there is another Alicorn out here somewhere. Where is it from, how did it get here, and how is it as powerful as Princess Celestia herself? None of this makes any sense."

Shining looked at Twilight for a second and sighed. "Tell me the truth Twiley, that's not what's bugging you is it?"

Shining was meet with a small but firm nod and Shining continued. "What's actually bothering you?"

"It's the other crater we found." Began Twilight. "The magic I sensed there was not normal pony magic, it was different in many ways, it felt destructive."

Twilight saw Shining's already white face lose even more color. She ignored her brother and continued.

"I hope that this possible Alicorn and mysterious creature are not hostile, they could both very easily destroy everything with that kind of power."

Shining shook his head trying to clear his thoughts of two powerful beings that could easily destroy everything. He then turned his head and smiled.

"Twilight, have you forgotten about the enemies you've taken on before. You and your friend found the elements, took out Nightmare Moon, and brought back Luna when Celestia herself could not. You stopped Discord even though he corrupted your friends, you pulled through and defeated him with the Elements of Harmony. Then you stopped Queen Chrysalis when she had trapped Celestia, Cadance and had me under her spell. You did that without the elements."

"We didn't stop her, you and Cadance did." Said Twilight as she brought her eyes to Shining.

"Without you Twilight, Cadance wouldn't have made it out of that mine."

"Twilight grumbled a bit, 'What are you getting at Shining?"

"All those foes were more powerful than Celestia as well but you and your friends defeated them.

Twilight looked down for a moment and then returned her gaze to Shining. "Your right Shining, as long as I have you and my friends we can always overcome any obstacle in our path."

Shining gave a light chuckle. "That's the spirit Twiley, now let's see if..."

Shining was cut off when he hit the backs of the guard ponies in front of him. They were sitting down and had their mouths slightly agape.

"Why did we stop?" Asked Shining.

Instead of an answer, one of the guards brought up his hoof and pointed to a nearby rock formation. Shining followed where the hoof pointed to until it he saw something that both shocked him and excited him. He was staring at an Alicorn and it was staring back.

* * *

Isabel found herself a nice spot under the rock and laid down. She started to think about all that has recently happened. It was almost too much to handle. She found it quite ridiculous that she was a pony. As the thoughts began to fly through her head, she started to close her eyes.

'Maybe I can get some rest before J comes back down." Thought Isabel as she began to began to get comfortable.

She had only had her eyes closed for a minute when she heard someone talking.

"...we can always overcome any obstacle in our path."

Isabel's eyes shot open, that wasn't J's voice, it was someone else. She sprung up on her legs and looked for the people talking. Something came into view and it shocked Isabel, it was two ponies covered in gold armor. They looked at her and she looked at them. Isabel felt like they have stared at each other for hours. She considered running or yelling for J but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the voice speak up again.

"Why did we stop?" Said the voice as whatever said it came into view.

It was another pony but in different armor. It probably meant that it was the leader or something. Behind it was a purple pony a little lower then the supposed leader. That purple one started to stare as well. However, it expression turned to what looked like fear then curiosity. The purple one stepped up and began to speak.

"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle." She then pointed her hoof to the pony in the different colored armor beside her. "This is my brother Shining Armor." She then looked at Isabel. "What's your name?"

Isabel's mind was racing, should she stay and talk or should she call for J. The options were weighed until she decided on one.

"My name is Isabel Hawk." She said firmly.

"Nice to meet you Isabel, my brother would like to talk to you."

Twilight motioned behind her and the pony who Isabel assumed was Shining Armor walked up.

"Hello," began the large white pony, "My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, it is a pleasure to meet you. I would like to invite you to come with us so you may meet our ruler, Princess Celestia."

Isabel thought for a second and replied "No thank you."

This baffled the ponies across from her. They began to regain their composure. "Why not?" Asked Shining Armor.

"Because I'm perfectly fine here, now please leave me alone. I will not go with you, that is final."

The ponies looked at one another, then they all looked at Shining Armor.

"I'm afraid there is no other option, either you come with us or we take you by force."

The last part of that sentence ring in Isabel's head a little.

'Dear god, they better not try that. I still remember what happened to those guards that my father sent to take me back by force. If J were to look over the edge of that rock at the wrong time, there will be blood everywhere.'

"I said no and you will regret it if you try to take me by force, your men and probably you will get hurt."

Shining Armor was clearly shaken, "You may be an Alicorn but we do not take threats lightly Isabel Hawk, you will come with us and that is final."

Suddenly the two ponies in gold armor started to advance on Isabel slowly. One was holding a little metal ring while the other was holding a set of hoof cuffs.

Isabel was trying to process all of this. They wanted her to go with them so badly that they would resort to force to get her to come with them. Isabel looked over the slowly advancing ponies and saw Twilight looking at Shining Armor crossly. She was obviously angry at Shining Armor for doing this. It looked like he was ignoring her though, he was too focused on Isabel at the time being to notice Twilight.

'Damn, these ponies are incredibly hard-headed.' thought Isabel as the two ponies got closer and closer.

She looked up the rock and saw J looking over with his hood up.

Isabel let out a small sigh.

'Now these ponies are dead, extremely dead.'

* * *

J finally made it to the top of the rock. At the top, J could well above the forest. The forest they were in was massive, it spanned all the way to the horizon in multiple directions. J let out a sigh, there was no clearing anywhere near. He could not spot a town or village. There was nothing taller then the trees. J had almost given up searching until he saw a dull gray structure sticking out at the level of the trees. Closer inspection revealed that it was the top of a castle and it wasn't too far away. J was thrilled, not did he find a building and hopefully a way out of this forest, but he found royalty. After finding the castle, J looked over the side of the rock to find Isabel, she had to know the good news. However, J found something else when he looked over.

He saw other ponies, what, other ponies? They looked to be talking to Isabel about something. J watched carefully from the rock, his eyes were especially on the two ponies with gold armor on. They looked like they were guards or soldiers of some sort. Something was going to happen, J could feel it. This feeling caused him to slowly put his hood on his cloak up. This caused the shadow enchantment on his cloak to take effect as his face was replaced with darkness.

The conversation between Isabel and the other ponies seemed to escalate and turn into an argument. J's then saw the two guards, on command, slowly make their way over to Isabel. About half way, one pulled out a set of iron shackles while the other pulled out an iron ring. They were going to take Isabel away, J was not going to let that happen. He had to quickly think of something or Isabel will be taken from him.

J looked over to the trees just below the rock, they all had thick and sturdy branches. An idea then ran through his head, one that would hopefully strike terror in those ponies hearts. J jumped to one of the trees below him. It was only a five or six foot drop so it was pretty quiet. J had a better look at the ponies, he was above Isabel by about ten feet. He then reached for one of his daggers and pulled it out. It was one foot of killing power, he had these ponies lives in his hands right now but killing them was not his plan. Instead, J throw the dagger in between the two ponies and Isabel. He then jumped out of the tree and landed with an audible thud right next to his dagger. He reached out, grabbed his dagger, set it back in it's holster and stood up.

J now had a complete view of these ponies, two without horns and wings and two with just horns. There was only three in armor and the with one with the horn had different armor so he must be the leader. The other pony was a small purple pony with a horn on it's head as well. This pony looked at J with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. J had no time to look at the small purple pony because the big white one stepped in front of it.

By royal decree, I ask that you step aside and stay out of our business."

J shook his head and moved his feet slightly so that he could get into his combat stance. If it's a fight these ponies want, then it's a fight these ponies will get.

The white pony snorted loudly and looked at the guards.

"Subdue this creature but don't kill it, we will take him in to question."

The two ponies in front of him nodded and broke into a dead sprint towards J. The one in front used it's momentum and looked like it was trying to buck J in his chest. J easily dodged and grabbed the pony's hind leg. He was too focused on the first guard to notice the other rear it's back legs up as well. J turned his head just in time to receive a buck to the head. J staggered a bit, his head was spinning. However, he stood up straight and looked at the guard. One of the rules of battle was to not let your enemy see any emotion of pain from you, they will use it against you. Even though there was several words floating through J's head that he would like to yell out right now, he contained himself.

With the other guard still in hand, J ran over to the other guard who was still dazed due to the fact that J was still standing. J decided to return the favor to the guard and pulled his foot back. He then kicked forward and hit the guard straight in the head, sending him flying back towards the white pony. He then took the pony in his hand and gave it a hard hit to it's stomach and tossed it next to the other pony on the ground.

The white pony looked baffled, he didn't even take his eyes off J. He then looked down and saw the ponies on the ground, one was out cold while the other was in immense pain. This creature, whatever it was, just took out two guard ponies and managed to shrug off a buck to the head, what is this thing? The white pony looked at the purple one with the same expression the purple one had. Both of them looked at J, their looks of horror grew greater the longer they stared into his darkened face.

J noticed the horrified expressions on the two ponies faces and decided to have a little fun. He quickly searched through his memory to find the appropriate spells. He was going to make these ponies remember never to mess with Isabel again. He then cast two spells, the first was a paralysis spell. The second was an illusion spell, a pretty strong one at that. He then walked up to the two ponies who were rooted in place. He squatted down and leaned in to whisper to them.

"_If you continue to pursue us, I'll have no choice but to gut you both and hang the carcasses from a tree."_

Both ponies were recoiling in fear, the illusion spell that J had casted caused whatever the victim hears to happen to them inside their mind. It was a pretty dark spell but it still got the job done. The spell continued for minutes on end with J saying things like "_I'll tear through your body with my bare hand" or "I'll rip all of your skin off and toss you into a lake." _It got to the point were the purple pony was crying heavily and shaking in total fear.

'I think they've learned a lesson.' J thought as he was about to break the illusion spell. However, something powerful was getting close, J could feel it in his very bones. He shot up and looked around, whatever it was, it was closing in on him. He looked at the ponies in front of him, broke the spell, and walked away. The purple pony collapsed while the white one stayed up but had a thousand yard stare. J quickly walked to Isabel.

"We need to leave now Isabel, something powerful approaches." J then turned to the forest. "There is a castle over in that direction, maybe the people of that castle will help us."

Isabel stood up from where she was sitting. "I doubt it." she said coolly as she began to follow J into the forest again.

* * *

Shining watched the creature walk away with Isabel in tow. Whatever it just did to him was incredibly terrifying. He heard, felt and saw himself being gored, skinned, burned, eaten alive, you name it, Shining just experienced it. Twilight experienced it as well. She was on the ground shaking violently and crying loudly. Both ponies were so traumatized that they didn't even see both princesses walk up to them.

"What is wrong?" Celestia tried to ask both the ponies.

Her attempts to get closer were halted by her sister, Luna.

"Don't go any closer my dearest sister, both Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle have been affected by some very dark magic, it still lingers on them."

Celestia listened to her sisters warning and started to talk to Shining.

"Shining, what did this to you and Twilight?"

Shining blinked twice and spoke softly. "Two of them, an Alicorn and a creature."

Celestia's eyes widened in disbelief, another Alicorn was now in Equestria, what would this mean?

She then quickly asked, "Shining, which way did they go?"

Shining brought up a weak, shaking hoof and pointed out into the forest, towards the old castle ruins. Celestia looked at Luna nodded. As both princesses where about to set off when they saw the royal guard pony that had told them about the craters was running at them with a huge sword strapped to his back. He stopped in front of Celestia and got a salute.

"Princess, this sword was found at one of the craters, we were able to detect some strong magic locked away in it so it might be of some use."

Celestia levitated the sword off of the guards back and strapped it to Luna's.

"Thank you guard, now please go get help for Shining, Twilight, and these two guards. We are going to continue the pursuit."

The guard saluted one more time before running back to find help. Both sisters took to the sky towards the castle ruins.

* * *

J and Isabel finally made it to the castle only to find out that it was nothing but ruins.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Shouted J as they walked into the ruins.

"This is pretty much our luck right now." Replied Isabel as she looked around the destroyed halls of the castle.

J was about to comment on their luck as well but was interrupted by Isabel calling for J.

"J come over here." She called

J turned and walked over to Isabel. "What do you see?"

Isabel pointed one of her hoofs to the wall in front of her. "Do those look familiar to you?"

J stepped forward and examined the wall. Inscribed on the wall was the same runes that they both saw the night they were transported here. His head spun, he now knew who casted that spell. It had to be someone from this land that uses these runes. His train of thought was completely destroyed when J heard the sound of hoofs clip-clopping on stone and felt the same power when he had those ponies under his illusion spell.

J turned to see two more ponies, something was different about these two though, they looked like Isabel. One of them had a sword strapped to it's back. J then realized that it was his missing longsword and that they must have found where he and Isabel woke up at. Instinctively, J stepped in front of Isabel and put his hands close to his daggers. The bigger one of the two stepped up.

"So you were the one who hurt Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, and two royal guards." She stared at J angrily.

"You have identified yourself as a threat and thus you will be treated as one."

J quickly got into his combat stance

'This is going to be one hell of a fight.'

* * *

**This was only the first part of the badassary, the rest of it is to come next chapter.**

**In this chapter we also get a first look a J's magic, he can pull off pretty advanced magic so don't be suprised at the kind of magic he uses when he's angry.**

**Also let me answer a question I kept getting after I put the last chapter out, Why was Isabel tranformed into an Alicorn? Well, if you think about it, earlier it was stated that she had a lot of magical potential in her body. When ever she was transported to Equestria, that magic inside her tranformed her from a human into an Alicorn. You might also be asking if Isabel was tranformed into an Alicorn because of the magic in her body, then why isn't J an Alicorn right now. Well, I'll let the story tell you that.**

**Feel free to leave a comment or review. Please point out my mistakes in this chapter because the better the writer I am, the better the content of the chapter is.**

**See everypony Thursday.**


	5. Chapter 4

The Royal Protector

Chapter 4

Both J and Celestia stood motionless for a couple of moments. They were both trying to read the others emotion. It was clear on Celestia's face that she was scared of this fight. While on J's face there was nothing but darkness, he still had his hood up. They stood silently a little while longer until Celestia's horn started to glow. She had taken a hold of the sword strapped to Luna's back and brought it towards herself. She examined it closely before lowering it.

"Before we fight, It would be polite to know who I'm fighting." Said Celestia looking at J.

J looked at the white pony and said nothing, this caused Celestia to sigh.

"Fine I'll go first." She cleared her throat and continued. "I am Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria and this is my sister Princess Luna."

J was conflicted, he worked to protect royalty all his life and now he was pitted against in a fight, probably to the death. Killing royalty that wasn't evil really didn't sit well with him. He had to come up with a plan to win without death.

"My name is J." He said in a deep voice, much deeper than what he expected.

Celestia looked at him weirdly. "That's it, you have no titles to your name. I mean you are accompanied by an Alicorn, you must have a title?"

"I have many titles." Said J, "There not important right now."

J then pulled out both of his daggers and readied himself for the fight. Celestia replied by raising the sword she still had gripped in her magic. Celestia nodded and both Celestia and Luna launched forward at J. Celestia raised the sword and swung, it met J's dagger with a loud clang sound. J had parried the swing expertly with one of his daggers while he thrusted the second one towards Celestia. She managed to jump back in time for the dagger to barely miss her stomach. Celestia pulled the sword back up and swung again. J blocked it this time but held the blade there as he looked around. He was looking for the other sister, Luna. He quickly found her as she closed in on Isabel.

* * *

Luna started to charge her magic and aimed it at Isabel. She was interrupted when she saw a dagger fly towards her. She easily dodged it and looked at J. He was holding the sword Celestia had in place while he held his hand out at the other sister. Both of them looked confused on why his hand was out. They both found out pretty quickly, in the form of a spinning sound. Luna looked to her side to see the dagger floating in place but spinning incredibly fast. It then launched itself at Luna who dodge it again but was too close. She received a medium sized cut on her cheek.

The dagger then returned to J's hand who then released the sword from it's holding place and knocked it away. Both princesses were in front of him now. He was standing in front of Isabel, who was sitting down wide-eyed. He reached over to Isabel and pulled her to her feet.

"You have to help me Isabel, I can't beat them on my own." Said J without taking his eyes off Celestia and Luna.

"I don't know how to help, I was never good at hand-to-hand combat and I don't know how to use my magic." said Isabel looking down in shame.

J looked at Celestia who still had the sword. He looked at her horn and realized that is was glowing with the same color the surrounded her horn. J then came to a realization.

"Isabel, try channeling magic through your horn, try thinking about those two over there being held into place by something."

Isabel looked flustered. "I'll try."

Isabel closed her eyes and focused. She tried to remember all the things that J had taught her over their years together. She focused on anything she thought would hold the two princesses in place for J. After searching, Isabel found one spell in particular that stuck out to her. She focused on the spell as her horn began to glow a blackish color. Suddenly, the stone floor under Celestia and Luna began to break up. Under the stone floor, several vines, glowing black, started to snake out. Celestia turned to her sister and yelled.

"We must get off the ground!"

Luna nodded and both princesses launched themselves into the air. J turned back to Isabel.

"Get those vines to follow them Isabel, I need to get my sword back, it's the only advantage they have over us. If they find out how to use it, we're screwed."

Isabel nodded and focused her magic even more and the vines shot out of the hole in the ground even bigger than before. Isabel had the vines launching themselves at the princesses who were trying to evade them. As the princesses were evading the huge vines being launched at them, they failed to notice J jumping from the vines getting closer and closer to both ponies. J saw the two princesses dodging and weaving throughout the vines. J quickly spotted the Celestia and his sword on her back. J then took a running jump and launched himself in the air. He found his target, a certain white pony with a sword strapped to its back.

J had grabbed Celestia by both of her wings so that they would fall. However, J's honor and title would not allow him to bring himself to kill royalty that did not deserve it. Noticing that the floor was closing in, J turn in mid-air, still holding Celestia, he was now under her so that he would take most of the damage. They both hit the floor with a sickening boom.

* * *

J groaned and looked around. He had made a decent sized hole in the floor where he landed. He looked across from him to see Celestia struggling to get up. He also saw the sword on the ground next to him. He carefully got up and walked over to his sword. He then picked it up and examined it. It was in it's best condition, no chips, no scratches. He then started to slowly walk over to Celestia who was still trying to get up. He pushed her down gently with his foot and put the tip of the sword next to her throat. Celestia looked as if she admitted her defeat except there was one thing, she had a smile on her face. J looked at her and then looked behind him and found the reason for Celestia's new found happiness, and boy did it piss J off. Behind him stood Luna but she had something levitating beside her, that something was Isabel.

He looked back down at Celestia who was smiling as if she won the battle. J tried to reach for one of daggers but found himself paralyzed and floating a few feet in the air. The last thing he saw was that stupid grin Celestia had on her face before he was thrown into a near by wall at incredible speeds.

* * *

J hit the wall hard, he felt his whole body shudder with pain. He laid there under a pile of rubble unable to move due to the pain. He heard the familiar sound of hooves walking among on the stone floor.

"It is greatly injured, I can feel it." spoke Luna.

"I honestly don't care right now, it could have easily killed us both but it didn't, it was toying with us but it paid the price." Said Celestia

"I wonder what it is, and why was that sword is so important to it?" Asked Luna as she looked at the sword Celestia was now holding.

"It doesn't matter Luna, let's just get back to Canterlot and I'll order the guards to come get this thing, whatever it is."

Luna nodded and both princesses started to walk away.

J listened to this conversation between the two princesses and he became extremely enraged.

"**NOT EVEN ROYALTY WILL TAKE ISABEL FROM ME." **yelled J from under the rubble. He didn't care how the princesses would react to his outburst. They would pay dearly.

J put his hands to the rubble on top of him and blasted it with his magic. Every bit of rubble that was on him blew away. J slowly stood up only to be greeted by the two princesses. The look of horror was great on their faces. J hadn't realized it but his hood had been pulled down and the shadow enchantment dispelled, his face was revealed. His scars, his brown hair, and his eyes. He had blood slowly dripping down the side of his face and in the corners of mouth. It was clear that he was in great pain. The anger he had towards the princesses was so great that he simply ignored the pain.

J held his hand out and shot a huge wave of magic. It was enough to throw the princesses off their hooves and back several feet. J looked around and found his sword. He picked up quickly and made his way towards the princesses who were standing in front of Isabel like J did. He saw Celestia horn light up again and felt the feeling of being lifted. Not this time.

J concentrated on the source of the magic in hopes to cut it off. He attempt was successful, he blocked Celestia's magic and the feeling of being lifted stopped. He the walked up to Celestia and Luna. He held the sword out and spoke with anger in his voice.

"It is against everything that I do for a living to harm or kill royalty, I even tried to cause the least amount of damage as possible! However, you want nothing other then to take Isabel away from me! You take her away from me and you will regret it! I know you saw the two ponies next to that rock! They tried to take Isabel as well and look how they turned out!"

J paused for a moment and waited before continuing.

"Do you still wish to take Isabel against her own will."

Celestia snorted, "You have no say in royal business, we will take her with us and if you get I the way, I will personally kill you."

J shook his head, "I didn't what to hurt you, both of you. However, you leave me no choice."

J took his sword in hand and held it out. He closed his eyes and began to let his magic flow through the weapon. This was a rare occasion, he rarely meet someone on the battlefield that made him charge his weapon with magic. He reopened his eyes and liked what he saw. In front of him was his sword but it was covered in yellow energy. He then lowered his sword.

"You wondered why this sword was so special to me, now you know."

Celestia looked at the sword and back to J. The sword was radiating such incredible magical energy that even she herself couldn't control. She stepped back out of fear.

"W...what is that?" Celestia said while looking at the sword.

"This?" J replied. "This sword was given to me as a gift by one of my friends, it has the ability to shape itself it a weapon that equals the power of the wielder if enough magic is channeled through it. Honestly, I'm suprised that you didn't figure this out before."

He could literaly see Celestia and Luna's eyes shrink to pinpricks.

"Now, I'll ask you one more time, will you cease your attempts to take Isabel?"

Celestia regained her royal yet stern composure, "My decision on the matter is final."

J looked at Celestia and Luna before raising his sword into a combat stance.

"Then I'm afraid that you and your sister will have to die."

* * *

**Sorry about the short chapter, I'm saving some good stuff for the next chapter. The next chapter will be longer, I pinkie promise!**

**I presonally like to write fight scenes and so you will see that in ever single fight scene of this story, they will be well written. It not going to be like most fight scenes in stories i've read. Those usually just have the main character easily wiping out guards like its nothing or they easily incapitate the princesses without receiving some injuries. In my own opinion, Characters in a stary, no matter if they are extremely good fighters or immortal, should have some flaws to them. For example, one of J's weaknesses is Isabel, but don't tell him I told you that.**

**(And so ends my rant for the chapter)**

**As always, feel free to leave a comment or review. Please point out my mistakes because when you do it futhers my skills in writing this lovely story greatly.**

**See everypony Monday!**


	6. Chapter 5

The Royal Protector

Chapter 5

Once again, J found himself looking at Celestia and Luna. He had his sword in hand, it was continuously sparking with energy. Many things could be done with this sword. Since it's power equaled that of J's, it was incredibly destructive. He moved it around in his hands and tilted it. It was utterly weightless. It was like holding something as light as a stick but powerful enough to take out a small army of foot soldiers.

J tilted the sword again and thought of his battle plan. He calculated every move of his plan and went over them. He did this for several of his ideas until he came up with one that seemed as it was a good one. J looked down at his sword and charged a little more magic into it causing it to glow a little brighter. He then put the sword behind him and slashed it forward. After the swing was complete, the sword left behind a crescent shape wave of magic that traveled forward very fast. It was headed straight for Celestia but she stepped out of the way just in time. It passed her and collided with the wall 20 feet behind her. Instead of dispatching, it went straight through the wall and brought it down.

Celestia looked behind her and then back at J. She had both fear and determination in her eyes. She looked as if see was trying her best not to lose her composure and freak out. J laughed lightly, these emotions gave him great hope that he could win this battle. He carefully went over his plan one more time and then smiled. He swung his sword four times in rapid succession. Four more crescent wave emerged from the sword and headed straight towards both Luna and Celestia. Again they expertly dodged the waves, they even deflected the first one. However, J was planning on this. He made that last wave bigger than the others. As soon as the fourth one left his sword, he made a dash for the princesses using that fourth wave as cover. As soon as Celestia dodged the fourth one, she saw J behind it as he thrusted his sword at her. Celestia jumped to the side quickly to dodge the blow, J was hoping she would do this. From where the sword remained from the thrust, J swung it to the side Celestia was on. He heard a satisfying slicing sound as he drug the sword across Celestia's chest. He didn't get to see it because he had done a spin after the slice. If he hit Celestia with this next swing, he would surely kill her.

J finished his spin and brought his sword down. As he returned to his original direction, he was surprised. Instead of Celestia standing there, he saw Luna standing in front of him. He then felt something block his blow. He looked up and saw an ethereal sword. It was a dark blue color and looked to be surrounded by a blue mist. J was a little surprised, this was literally the first time Luna had directly confronted him. She had actually ruined J's plan. However he ignored her for the time being and looked around. He saw Isabel safely tucked into the corner. J sighed lightly and began to think of another plan.

'Maybe if I can break this sword and get past Luna, I can grab Isabel and I could escape into the forest.'

His thought was stopped when he saw something else. He saw a blood trail leading away from the battle, it had to be Celestia's. He followed the trail and it lead behind him. He then heard the galloping of hooves.

'Shit, This is going to hurt.'

J then pushed Luna's sword away from him and turned to face Celestia. He had just enough time to get out a pained grunt as Celestia rammed into him. He was knocked backwards by about 10 feet. J had been punched in the chest and stomach before but this takes the cake. He took a good two minutes to regain his breath and footing. He wondered why Celestia and Luna hadn't attacked him while he was trying to recover from Celestia's attack. He looked up and found out. The cut on Celestia's chest was healed, not even the scar was there. They must have used that time to heal Celestia's wound.

J groaned a bit, this was going to be a long fight if they kept this up. He had to somehow keep them from helping each other, but how? The answer to J's question came to him in the form of a trick. J took his sword and drove it into the stone floor. He then pulled out his two daggers and threw them. They flew through the air and straight at Luna. Instead of going straight at her, they curved and stuck into the stone floor on both sides of Luna.

"Ha!." Luna yelled. "Thou can't even hit me whilst is stand still. I thought a creature of great power, such as yourself, would have better aim."

What Luna didn't know is that before J threw the daggers, he enchanted them with a simple yet powerful shield spell. Luna, being as unobservant as she is, failed to notice the magic in the daggers. As she constantly made comments about J's aim, she didn't notice the yellow barrier form around her.

"You might want to quit your making jokes and pay attention sister." Said Celestia.

Luna stopped and looked around her and finally noticed the barrier.

"H-how did thou do this without me seeing thou cast the spell?" Asked Luna

J smiled, "Let's just say that aim wasn't important when I threw those daggers.

J turned to Celestia who was watching her sister trying to break the barrier. She tried to help but was stopped by J who started to dash at her again. J thrusted his sword at her again only for her to dodge it. He kept swing his sword and Celestia kept dodging. Celestia even tried to use her magic to attempt to throw J into another wall. He wasn't letting that happen again. Every time Celestia tried to use her magic, J would stop it by cutting off the source of the magic. After many more failed attempts from Celestia, J decided it was time to end this.

J thrusted his sword again but this time instead of pulling back and swinging the sword. He took his right hand off the handle and punched Celestia right on the side of her face. Celestia backed away stunned from J's attack. She shook her head and returned her attention to J. Blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth. Celestia spat the blood out of her mouth and snorted. This time instead of using any kind of tactic, Celestia charged in head first. A fatal error, she was letting her anger and rage get the better of her.

As Celestia neared J, he quickly dodged and readied his sword. Celestia turned and charged again. This time, J stopped her charge with a well placed palm strike to her side. Celestia jumped to side and started to circle J, more blood trickling from her mouth. J made the first move as he moved closer.

'It's time to end this' thought J as he got closer and closer.

As he got up to Celestia, she turned to deliver a powerful buck to his chest. J duck below the buck and brought his feet forward. He kicked both of his feet out and delivered a powerful kick to Celestia's stomach that sent her flying. Luna was watching in horror as J knocked Celestia half way across the room with that powerful kick. J looked over to Luna and laughed silently at her horror. He returned his attention to Celestia who was on the ground trying to recover from the blow she had received. This gave J his chance, he quickly ran over to were she way laying on the ground and stood over her. He had his sword to her throat and was ready to end her life. He pulled the sword back and started to plunge it.

"STOP!" Yelled a voice behind J.

J looked back and saw Isabel standing behind him.

"Isabel, why do you tell me to stop?" Asked J.

"This is all my fault." began Isabel. "It's my fault that you attacked those ponies by the rock in the first place. I refused to go to meet Princess Celestia with them."

J was stunned a bit. All of this was started because of that? J didn't have time to think because Celestia had used her magic to sling J off of her. J hit the floor behind Isabel and slid on the floor for a couple feet before stopping. He had gotten up in time to see a bolt of magic flying right at him. However, it was stopped right in front of J. A blackish barrier appeared in front of him where the bolt had struck. J looked over to Isabel who had her horn glowing. Isabel gave Celestia a death stare.

"I've had enough of this fighting. You were going to kill each other over me."

Isabel was furious, J knew better then to go against his honor and kill royalty. This had to end.

"If it will stop this needless fighting, I will accompany you to your castle."

Celestia looked stunned, She looked down for a moment and finally answered. "Fine, I shall stop, please have J over there release my sister and we shall go to the castle."

Isabel didn't miss a beat. "J will only release your sister and I will only go with you under two conditions."

Celestia snorted slightly. "What are your conditions?"

"One, once we get to this castle of yours, you explain to me why I am so important to you ponies."

Celestia nodded in agreement at her first term and Isabel continued.

"Two, J comes with us."

"What?!" Yelled both princesses at the same time.

"I will not allow such a dangerous creature to roam freely in my land." yelled Celestia

Isabel stomped her hoof. "You listen here princess, J wouldn't have been hostile in the first place if Shining Armor hadn't tried to take me forcefully. I assure you that as long as you do not threaten me or him, he will be peaceful. Hell, you could probably employ him into your guard."

"What do you mean by employ him?" Asked Celestia.

Isabel looked at J as he nodded. "Were we are from, J had two jobs. One was as a teacher and the other was as The Royal Protector for kings, queens, princes, princesses, dukes, duchesses, you name it. He has protected all kinds of royalty.

Celestia was surprised at what Isabel had told her. To think that something so powerful would spend it's time protecting royalty is very surprising. One other question then struck Celestia's mind.

"Why is he so protective over you then?"

"Well, I'm on both sides of J's jobs. I'm from royalty because my father is a king but I am also his student as well. That is why he went as far as almost killing a princess for my safety."

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but was silenced when J walked closer and held his hand up.

"Before you ask anymore questions about us I have one I would like to ask you."

J then pointed to the wall with the runes on it.

"Before we started our little fight, I noticed that wall was covered in runes. Do you by any chance know what those runes are?"

Celestia was hesitant at first but eventually gave into J's question. She trotted slowly over to the wall that J had pointed to and examined it.

"These runes are old equestrian runes, specifically used for high power teleportation rituals. Why do you ask?"

J looked at Isabel and back to Celestia.

"It is a long story but first I need to do something."

J walked away from Isabel and up to Luna. He pulled each dagger out of the ground which caused the barrier containing Luna to crumble away.

"There, I have released your sister, let us make our way to your castle."

Luna stood there dumbstruck.

"Why would thou trust us when we tried to kill you?"

J stopped and turned back to Luna before giving a small smile.

"Isabel has agreed to go with you so there is no need to take action against you anymore. However, if you do, in any way, hurt her, I'll cut your head off, set it on a pike, and parade it through your towns."

Luna shivered slightly, "Point taken." She said quietly.

J turned back around and walked back to Isabel. Celestia the perked up in a regal form.

"You have released my sister, I accept your conditions but first I would like to know what land you came from and how you got here."

Isabel then spoke up . "I would like to tell you princess but I would really like for Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle to be present when we discuss the matter."

J looked at Isabel confused. "Who?" he asked.

"The ponies we meet at that huge rock were two guards, Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle."

J's mouth formed a small "o" as he remembered who Isabel was referring to.

Celestia spoke up again. "Earlier, I was informed by my royal guard that both Shining and Twilight were taken to our castle to be treated for that spell you cast on them, we shall go there at once.

On that note, Celestia and Luna got closer to J and Isabel. Celestia's horn lit up and a bright flash of white appeared around the group of four. Moments later, the group reappeared in a garden of some sort. There were beautiful plants and animals all around. J even spotted a couple statues. Something was off about them through, they seemed to radiate a little magical energy. J shrugged it off and remind himself to ask about it later.

J saw Celestia turn and speak up.

"Welcome to Canterlot, Isabel and J."

* * *

**There you have it everypony, chapter 5. Next chapter will be filled chalk full of explaintions, suprises, and name calling, oh my!**

**Also, I'm going a little off the actual plot of the story in a while. I have a poll up on my profile page. You can vote for one of two topics. I'm going to write a chapter based off the one most picked. **

**The two topics are**

**1. How J aquired his immortality**

**2. When Isabel left her father to become J's student and how her father reacted.**

** I would like to encoruge everyone that reads this chapter to go vote. The poll will end next Monday.**

**Please feel free to leave a comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or point out a part you liked or both, whatever floats your boat.**

**See everypony Thursday.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Don't forget to vote on the two topics on my profile. The winner will get it's own chapter. The loser will be... Well, if I were to tell you what would happen to the loser, this story would lose it's T rating. ;)**

* * *

The Royal Protector

Chapter 6

J and Isabel looked around in awe. They were both in a garden of some sort. It was incredibly beautiful and contained many different things. Beyond the garden stood a castle. It was different from what J had been used to seeing. The architecture on it was foreign to him, it was different from any kind of style he had seen. J looked down back to Celestia and Luna to find them walking away. He quickly gained his wits about him and walked after them.

They were walking for a good five minutes before Isabel spoke.

"How did you know about us being in the forest?" Said Isabel, her curiosity peaked.

"Well, to start off, you were kind of hard to miss."

"What do you mean?" Asked Isabel.

Celestia cleared her throat and spoke. "Late last night, there was an anomaly in the night sky. It appeared that two stars were falling to Equestria. At first it was thought that they were just stars but further inspection by my sister and myself showed that it was two creatures of immense power instead of two stars. The next morning we sent our guard to investigate that part of the forest. They returned with reports of two craters radiating with unknown magic and a huge sword was found at one of the craters. The discovery of both of these things caused my sister and myself to got into the forest ourselves. We were surprised to find another Alicorn as well as a creature we've never seen before."

Celestia ended her long winded explanation with another question.

"What are you exactly?" She asked looking at J.

J shook his head slowly. "I will tell you when we have we have everyone with us."

J then continued with his own question. "Why exactly is is Isabel so important to you two."

Celestia perked up at the mention at this subject. "She is an Alicorn like my sister and myself. Alicorns are extremely rare in Equestria, so rare that there are only four of us. Me, Luna, my niece Cadance and Isabel. The reason we wanted her so badly is that us Alicorns are very powerful. If somepony were to corrupt an Alicorn, that Alicorn would be a threat to the world as we know it."

"So when you saw Isabel with me, you thought that I had captured her and was trying to corrupt her?"

"Well, you were completely covered by that cloak of your and to be honest, you looked like you were going to do something to her." Said Celestia.

J was about to speak but was interrupted by Luna. "How do thou cover thine face with darkness?"

"It's an enchantment I put into my cloak so that every time I cover my head with my cloak, it is hidden from the view of the world."

Luna looked at J confused. "Wouldn't thou want thine opponent to know who they fight?"

J laughed lightly, "Honestly, I've lived long enough to learn that if that opponent intends to kill, they don't deserve the honor of seeing my face before they die."

Celestia flinched at these word while Luna looked even more confused. "What does thou mean by lived too long, thou looks very young."

"Sometime looks can be deceiving. I might look young but I am actually around 2000 years old."

Isabel spoke up loudly. "Your 2392 years old"

"Thank you Isabel, I am 2392 years old."

Celestia was dumbstruck, "How did you acquire immortality!" She yelled.

"It's a long story, maybe I'll tell you someday." Said J as he brushed off Celestia's question.

"If you are truthful in your words then I have finally met somepony beside my sister and niece that understands the pains of immortality." spoke Celestia softly.

"You're immortal as well?" Asked J as he slowed his walk down.

"Because of the immense amounts of magic that we store inside our bodies, Alicorns are practically immortal." Celestia spoke with stinging sorrow in her voice. "I find it hard to go on living when I watch all of my friends and faithful subjects grow old and die while I stay the same." Celestia lowered her head closer to the ground and a look of sorrow covered her eyes.

J reached over to Celestia and put his hand on the back of her neck.

"I know first hand what you are you talking about. When I first became immortal, I didn't know what to do. I had lost so many friends and even loved ones to both the sword and to time itself. However, I found something that kept me going. Do you know what that is?"

Celestia slowly shook her head.

"Look to your side." J said quietly.

Celestia looked to the side opposite of J and saw Isabel smiling at her with a huge mirthful smile.

"I found that two things kept me from going over the edge into insanity. The first is as a personal protector to royalty and the second is being a teacher. The feeling I got when I saw my first student that I ever had rise to greatness or when I protected a good king from an assassination for the first time was incredible. I realized that immortality might have it's downsides but the pros severely outweight the cons. One of those pros are meeting people like Isabel. She taught me that I have to realize that the past is the past and the future in the future and the only thing that was important is the present. All you have to do is find your calling in life and then the emotional pains of immortality are almost no existence."

Celestia looked at J with a small smile. "I did not expect you to be so wise."

You'd be surprised on how many people tell me that." said J smiling.

"Thank you for your words, if I had known that you were this wise, we would have tried to be peaceful in the beginning. We could have avoided this mess all together."

J laughed again. "Remember what I said Princess, the past is the past, we must not dwell on it. Instead, let us worry about the task at hand."

Celestia nodded slowly and looked around her. They had made it to the front doors of the castle. She spotted the guards next to the door and spoke to them.

"Guards, take us to Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor."

The guards looked from Celestia to Luna and then to J and Isabel. They looked from Celestia to J and back again.

"He is peaceful now, take us to them." said Celestia as she got a frustrated look on her face.

The guards saluted and opened the main castle doors. Inside revealed a long hallway that lead to another door at the end. J could tell that it probably lead to the throne room since it was adorned by red carpet. Instead of going though that door, the guards took the group through a door on the side. The hallway they were now in was heavily guarded. The was a guard every couple feet from each other with their backs against the wall. The door on the other side of the hallway was guarded by three more ponies.

'Shining Armor must have been a commanding officer of Celestia's guard. Other wise there would be this much security.

As the group walked down the hall, J could feel the eyes of the guards follow him in particular. He even heard a couple angry snorts but none of the guards moved from their spots. At the end of the hall that guards at the door somewhat hesitated to stand aside but ended up complying. The group walked through the door which lead to an actual room. In the middle of the room was a sign that held nothing but a red cross. Under the banner was a pony in a nurses outfit sitting behind a desk. She simply looked up, saw Celestia and pointed a hoof to a nearby door. Celestia nodded and trotted to the door.

Celestia looked at J before opening the door. J simply nodded and Celestia proceed to open the door.

Inside was two beds, one held Shining and the other held Twilight. They both looked physical fine except the fact that Twilight was asleep. Beside both beds stood five other ponies. J looked at the five ponies and saw two with wings, two with neither horn nor wings and one with a horn. The one closest one to J was a cyan winged pony with a rainbow mane. Beside that one was an orange pony with yellowish hair tied together with a rope or small string. On the other side of the bed stood the other winged pony, another pony without anything and a pure white horned pony. The other winged pony was yellow with pink hair much like the pony next to her which was all pink. The last pony was a pure white horned pony with purple hair. J then noticed the marks on their backsides as well. As he looked from pony to pony he couldn't help but laugh silently.

'Three apples, three butterflies, three gems and three balloons. Gee, I think I'm sensing a pattern.'

The only different of was the cyan pony who mark was a rain cloud that was shooting out a rainbow colored lightning bolt.

"At least that one is different." J said quietly.

Since they had entered the room, not one of the ponies noticed our presence. J was tempted to clear his throat to get their attention but it looked like Shining Armor had beaten him to it. Shining had noticed their presence in the room but his attention was immediately drawn to J. His eyes then got wide as he started to speak.

"I...i.i.i.. 's b.b.b. ." Said Shining as he brought up a shaking hoof and pointed it at J.

This caused the five other ponies to turn notice J was in the room. They all looked at him with looks of hatred.

"You did this!" yelled the cyan pony while pointing it's hoof at J.

J said nothing, he just simply nodded. This caused the cyan pony to snort and propel herself forward straight at J. She got a couple feet away from J before he moved. He simply moved to his right quickly and easily dodged the cyan pony. He had looked back as the cyan pony smacked into the door of the room. J looked back for a lovely surprise. He saw the orange pony right in front of him she way turned around and was in mid buck.

"Shit." said J as he received a buck to the stomach. This caused him to fall over in pain.

"Why do you ponies always hit me in the stomach." groaned J as he clutched his stomach. Isabel couldn't help but laugh at J. He looked up at her and groaned again before getting up slowly. He then saw both the cyan and orange pony running/flying at him. He readied himself to dodge and counter their attacks. However, they were stopped by Celestia.

"Rainbow Dash, Applejack, stop this foolishness at once!"

Rainbow Dash looked at the Celestia confused. "But Princess, you know what it did to Twilight and Shining!"

"Yes Rainbow Dash I am well aware at what he has done to them but he is here to help not to cause trouble."

Rainbow Dash looked at Celestia and then to J. J could sense the hostility and decided to introduce himself.

"I think I should introduce myself." J then walked closer to Rainbow Dash and stuck his hand out for a hand/hoof shake.

"My name is J, it is a pleasure to meet you Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash didn't grab his hand in response. Instead, she grunted and turned away. As she walked away, her tail had flick J in the face. J balled his open hand into a fist and stood up. He looked at Celestia and cleared his throat.

"May I start?" he asked.

Celestia nodded and J turned to Isabel and motioned her to walk with him. They both made their way over to the beds and J examined both of them before turning back to Celestia.

"It appears that the illusion I cast on them is still faintly there. Shining is okay and will be easily cured of the illusion. Twilight however, has slipped into a coma like state due to the nature of the spell. Her mind couldn't handle what it was seeing and shut itself away from the world. Both can be released from the illusions side-effects but Twilight will require more work."

Celestia simply nodded and J began. He went up to Shining who was staring at him with big eyes and cowering in fear. J put his hand to the pony's head as his hand began to glow. Shining shut his eyes and reopened them. He looked at J and jumped back from the bed he was laying in. He charged his magic up but stopped when he felt a hoof touch his back. He looked back to see Celestia shaking her hand slowly. Shining seemed to get the message and watched J as he did the same thing to Twilight. However she didn't wake up.

Isabel looked at J, "What do you intend to do about the coma like state?"

"It isn't technically a coma." explained J, "It's just that her mind has shut itself away from everyone else. All she requires is a little...incentive."

Isabel looked at weirdly. "What is this incentive?"

J didn't answer, instead, he let his actions speak for him. He pulled his hand back and slapped Twilight as hard as he could across her face. All the ponies in the room gasped when he hit her. The only thing that stopped the ponies from attacking him was the fact that Twilight started to wake up. Twilight opened her eyes and looked at J and then to Celestia.

"Ok, I'll bite, who shaved this diamond dog and convinced it to slap me?" asked Twilight as she looked around the room.

J laughed loudly at Twilight's antics. "Maybe this will help you remember me."

J pulled his hood over his head and the enchantment started to cover his face with shadows. Twilight jumped back a little bit but then calmed down.

"Why are you helping me if you were our enemy only hour ago?" Asked Twilight.

"Well, we realized that all of this was a big misunderstanding and we made an agreement of peace." Said J as he pulled his hood back down.

J walked away and to the door. He took his place by the door and waited for Celestia to start talking. Celestia looked over the ponies in the room before speaking.

"When you all are ready, come meet us in the throne room, we have much to discuss."

Every pony in the room nodded slowly as Celestia, Luna, Isabel and J walked out of the room.

* * *

Twilight sat in her bed watching Celestia, Luna, Isabel and J leave the room. After they were gone Twilight sighed loudly.

"This has been a very interesting day to say the least." Twilight said as she slid out of her bed and walked over to her friends.

* * *

**Poor J, he's going to have a fear of ponies punching him in the stomach before this story is done with.**

**The poll for the side story chapter is a close one. remember that the poll closes Monday night so get your vote in before then.**

**Feel free to leave a comment or review. Please point out a mistake you see or just tell me a part you liked OR you could do both. **

**See everypony Monday  
Also, Happy one day late Halloween everypony.**


	8. Chapter 7

**ATTENTION! This is the last day to vote on a topic. The poll ends later tonight. If you don't know how to vote just click on my username and go to my profile page. The poll will be at the top.**

* * *

The Royal Protector

Chapter 7

Twilight slowly crawled out of the bed she was laying in. Her face still stung from the slap she had just received. She remembered what it was though. Isabel had called it "J" and "J" attacked her and Shining. Twilight was just standing next to the bed. Her thought was on Isabel and J. She had so many questions for both of them. Twilight mumbled something she barely understood and walked over to her friends.

"What do ya think that thing was?" asked Applejack.

"I don't care what it was, we can't forgive it for what it did to you Twilight!" Yelled Rainbow Dash as she looked Twilight into the eyes.

"I don't know what to think of all of this." said Twilight.

The conversation was interrupted when Shining walked up to Rainbow Dash and intervened.

"You heard what it said Rainbow Dash, it said it was here in peace. Besides, it did rid me and Twilight of whatever it did to us."

"But it put Twilight into a coma!" yelled Rainbow Dash in argument.

"It fixed her Rainbow Dash, if it truly wanted to hurt us, it wouldn't have helped us." Shining was firm in his belief that J wasn't the monster that Twilight's friends thought it to be. He turned to Applejack and spoke.

"What do you think of J Applejack?"

"Ah don't know what ta think right now." Said Applejack. "Ah feel mad at it fer what it did ta Twilight but at the same time ah feel bad fer buckin it in the stomach."

Shining then turned to the white unicorn beside him. "What about you Rarity, what do you think of J?"

Rarity put her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. "I'm having mixed thoughts about this J. It did something as horrible but it walked in here, fixed it's mistake and acted like a complete gentlecolt about it."

Shining then moved his line of sight to the pink pony to his right. "Pinkie, what do you think?"

"I think that we need to throw him a huge thankyouforfixingTwilightand Shining party."

The rest of the ponies then replied in unison. "HIM!?"

Pinkie snorted loudly before laughing. "Well duh, you ponies didn't notice?"

Shining rolled his eyes at Pinkie's antic before looking behind him. The stood a yellow pony that hiding behind it's pink mane.

What do you think Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked around a little and answered in a soft voice.

"Um.. I think that he looked scary but I think that we should give him a chance."

Shining nodded and looked at the ponies that surrounded him.

"I think that I made a mistake as well. I tried to take Isabel back to Canterlot by force. I was probably the one that caused J to attack us. It's my fault that Twilight got hurt. If you want to be mad at somepony, be mad at me."

Shining then walked to the door, put one hoof on it and looked back.

"I have every intention of apologizing to J after we leave the throne room. I think that the you all should do the same next time you see him."

Shining pushed the door open and looked at Twilight who looked like she was deep in thought.

"Come on Twilight, we need to get to the throne room."

Twilight stood there silently for a few seconds before answering with a simple nod. She walked over to Shining and both ponies walked out of the room. They left the other five ponies in there to think about what Shining just said.

* * *

J and Isabel had followed Celestia and Luna back to the throne room. When they reached the throne room, Celestia took a seat in her throne. Luna took her place beside Celestia in another chair that was smaller than the chair Celestia had. J and Isabel stood in front of them. A couple moments passed before Celestia asked a question.

"J tell me about you title of The Royal Protector."

J looked at Celestia. "What do you want to know?"

"What did you do for the royalty you served?"

J thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I was usually their personal bodyguard, I would protect the royal family from other that wanted to harm them. On several occasions, I had to train their soldiers or act as a general in their army. Sometimes they would send me on missions by myself for either diplomatic purposes or to send a message to other kingdoms."

"You seem well experienced in your field of work." said Celestia.

"Well, the only way you can learn in that kind of job is through trial and error." J laughed a little at the end.

Celestia let out a small chuckle as her eyes noticed the door to the medical wing open and Twilight and Shining walk out. She watched them walk up to the throne and stand next to J and Isabel. Before Celestia could ask a question J started to speak.

"Before we start, I would like to propose that we do this in a neat order. First I would like to tell you about Isabel and myself, then you can ask your questions. After you ask your questions, Isabel and I would like to ask a couple questions. Does that seem fair?"

J looked around him to see that they were nodding in agreement. J cleared his throat before starting.

"I would like to start by saying that Isabel used to look like me."

Every pony around him looked surprised. "There was a reason I asked about those runes on that wall."

J then went into his account of the night he and Isabel were transported to this land. He went into detail about the runes that appeared on the ground.

"We both then woke up in that forest. I then saw that Isabel had been transformed into her current form."

When J had finished his story, all the ponies around him looked at him and Isabel with open mouths.

"Alright, I'm done, you can ask your questions."

There was a pause before Twilight asked the first question.

"Could you tell us exactly what you are?"

J nodded and looked at Twilight in the eyes.

"I'm a human. The human species, all looks some what like me. We are omnivorous, apex predators. The funny thing was that our biggest enemy was ourselves. There are many of us that are extremely violent. I've even seen two men try to kill each other over a piece of bread."

Twilight looked away before thinking of another question to ask.

"Why is Isabel so important to you, besides the obvious reasons?" asked Twilight.

"She kind of fell on both sides of my jobs. She is both a princess and my student. It is my duty to both protect and teach her. That is why I was so protective over her."

Twilight started to ask another question but Shining cut her off with his question.

"What are your two jobs exactly?"

"The first is as a teacher to anyone who has an ambition to learn something new. The other is as a protector to royalty, I serve as their royal protector."

Shining started to ask another question but he was cut off by Twilight this time.

"A teacher, what do you teach?" she practically yelled.

J laughed a little at Twilight's eagerness. "I taught many things, ranging anywhere from politics to swordplay or archery. Isabel over there, came to me nine years ago. She has been my student ever since. She is currently learning forging and magic."

Twilight's eyes light up when J said that he taught magic. She had so many questions to ask him. She was think of a couple before J had to hold his hand up.

"I know you have questions Twilight but you must let everyone else around you have a chance. I'll come back to you, I promise."

Twilight nodded and Shining asked a question.

"You said royal protector, what does that mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds. I was known, by title and reputation, as J the Royal Protector. I protected royalty that requested help."

"How long did thou serve that particular royal family?" asked Luna.

"Usually I would outlive them. This caused me to move around a lot and experience many different cultures."

"You're immortal!?" yelled Twilight.

J simply nodded his head and Twilight continued with another question.

"How do you know magic?"

J answered her question quickly. "When you've been alive for as long as I have, you uncover secrets that aren't meant to be known by humanity. Magic is one of those secrets."

Twilight nodded and looked away. J then turned to Celestia and asked her something.

"Do you have any questions Celestia?"

"I'll ask it after you're done asking yours." she said.

J nodded and looked around. He didn't see that any of the ponies had anymore questions so he started asking his.

"Since everyone is done with their questions, I'll began to ask mine."

J cleared his throat and started. "What is the name of this land?"

Celestia quickly answered his question. "You are in the land of Equestria, right now, you're in the city of Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria."

"Two more questions and I'm done. One, I noticed that there are ponies with neither wing or a horn. Are there any other different types of ponies beside those three and alicorns."

"No." began Celestia. "Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, and alicorns are the only pony types."

"Alright last question, what's with the tattoos all you ponies seem to have on your backside?"

Celestia looked back to her cutie mark and then forward. She smiled and answered his question.

"They are called cutie marks. They appear on a colt or filly at a young age. It signifies that pony's special talent."

J looked at Celestia and then to Isabel's flank. He gave it a long look before talking.

"I understand the swords in your cutie mark Isabel but what I don't understand is the rune circle in the background. You never got to the point that you could start learning rune circle magic."

"Rune circle magic?" asked Twilight as she examined Isabel's cutie mark as well.

"Rune circle magic is a powerful type of magic that allows the summoning of massive amounts of magical energies. You could use it for anything ranging from mass teleportation to ritual summoning. However, rune circle magic is incredibly unstable. I've known several good men that were killed because of their misuse of rune circle magic."

J backed away from Isabel and spoke again.

"I am done with my questions, Isabel do you have any questions?"

Isabel put her hoof to her chin and looked down.

"Nope, none that I can think of at the moment."

J looked at Celestia and gave a small smile. "We are done with our questions, you may ask yours Celestia."

Celestia nodded and slowly started to rise from her throne.

"I will ask you in a moment, first I must speak with Luna and Shining in the other room. Twilight, stay here and keep J and Isabel company."

Twilight nodded and watched as Celestia, Luna and her brother Shining walked into the next room. There was several minutes of silence and stillness before anyone did anything. J then moved from his spot and to the nearest wall. He put his back to the wall and began to slowly sit down. When he was all the way seated, Isabel joined him. She sat next to him like a dog sits. She had her back legs down and her front legs extended.

Twilight stood there watching both of them for a good fifteen minutes before Celestia, Luna and Shining walked back through the door. Both J and Isabel had gotten to their feet and took their place in front of Celestia. There was a pause before Celestia began to speak.

"J, I know we didn't agree to start out with but you've shone yourself to be very wise and I respect that. On behalf of Luna, Shining and myself, I would like to formally apologize for the misunderstanding in the Everfree forest. We will see to it that you are pardoned for your actions and that you may inhabit and roam Equestria freely."

J started to express his thanks to Celestia but she cut him off.

"You told us that you had two jobs, as a teacher and as a protector of royalty. In the fight between us, you showed yourself to fight with the intention of honoring those jobs. We understand that you were protecting both royalty and a student. You also showed great skill in both physical and magical combat. Now, I would like to ask you one question J. Would you be willing to take up your title once more?"

J was stunned, usually he asked the kings or queens if they need extra help or protection but this time the royalty asked him. J replied with a nod and a calm but firm "yes."

"I ask you this sincerely J." Celestia walked down from her throne and stood in front of J. "Will you take up your title for us?"

There was a pause. The anticipation in the air was great. J stood there like a tree, he did not move an inch. It even looked like he was in deep thought. He then smiled and replied happily.

"It would be a great honor to serve as your protector Celestia."

J then pulled out one of his daggers and readied it. Celestia jumped back and wait for J to attack. Isabel jumped in before anything happened.

"Don't worry Celestia, just watch."

Celestia watched J carefully as he lowered the dagger. He then lowered himself to one knee and set the dagger on the stone floor. He lowered his head and put his free across his chest.

"I hereby promise to serve the Equestrian throne until I am told I am no longer needed. I will protect each member of the throne with my very life. I will be angered when you are. I will be saddened when you are. I will be happy when you are. Your enemy is mine and your allies are mine as well. May our time together be great."

J ended his long winded speech and returned his dagger to its holster. After a few moments, he rubbed the back of his head and laughed.

"It feels good to have a propose in this new land."

* * *

**Here you are everypony, the beautiful piece of art known as chapter 7. **

**Please don't forget to vote, the winner of the poll gets its own chapter. I think i've already clarified what happens to the loser.**

**Also after this chapter, the story is going to take a turn into the slice of life catagory but then it will go straight back into the actual story plot.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Point out my mistakes or tell me what you like about the chapter. You can also do both if you feel like it.**

**Well, I'm off to go try to survive Monday, see everypony Thursday.**


	9. Chapter 8

The Royal Protector

Chapter 8

Celestia was greatly pleased by J's reaction to her question. Today, she had gained possibly one of the greatest allies she could ever have. The amount of power that J held within his body was incredible. He seemed to have a strong will and a sense of honor. These traits would make him a very valuable asset to the protection of Equestria and all of it's citizens. She was distracted from her train of thought when she saw the door to the medical wing open. Out came all of Twilight's friends and a couple guards. They walked up to the throne and all of them gave a respectable bow to both Celestia and Luna. They rose to their hooves and looked at Celestia intently.

Celestia couldn't help but notice that the guards that followed Twilight's friends in were eying J with hate. Celestia ignored this and began to speak.

"Hello my little ponies, I know that the last few hours have been stressful on all of you but you can rest easy now. I have great news for all of you but before I tell you anything, I release that you all have not been introduced to J and Isabel formally."

Celestia looked at J and Isabel, "J, Isabel, I would like you to meet Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy."

J and Isabel both gave a bow and J spoke. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you."

At the moment, cyan pegasus extended her wings and flew up to J. She was face to face with J and snorted loudly. While J kept his cool and remained calm, the pegasus had a clear look anger on her face.

"If you ever so much as lay a finger on Twilight or any of my other friends, you're going down."

J was going to respond but saw that the pegasus was being pulled back by the orange pony that kicked him in the stomach. After the cyan pony was out of J's face the orange one began to speak.

"Ah apologize fer the way Rainbow Dash has been actin'." The orange pony then held out her hoof for what looked like a hand/hoof shake of some sorts. "My name's Applejack, it's a pleasure ta meet yah as well. Also, ah would like ta apologize fer buckin' yah in the stomach, It was uncalled fer."

J grabbed her hoof and gave it a firm shake. J was surprised, Applejack's hand shake nearly caused him to lose his balance. She was physically strong, unlike most of the ponies he had meet so far. J let go of Applejack's hoof and gave a smile.

"It's okay Applejack, you were probably mad at me as well but at least you said you're sorry and that's all that matters. Please tell Rainbow Dash that I understand if she wishes to continue to hate me for my actions against Twilight and Shining. I will not hold it against her if she will not forgive me. Honestly, I can say that if someone did that to one of my friends, that person would be dead. Rainbow Dash's loyalty to her friends is great and I admire her for that."

J walked away from Applejack and Rainbow Dash who were both staring at J in awe. Isabel then walked up to both of them and gave a little laugh.

"J's a softie once you get to know him."

She watched J walk up to Rarity and Pinkie Pie and greeted them with a little bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." J then looked at the white unicorn next to him. "You must be Rarity."

"How in the world did you know that?" she asked.

"It is a rarity to see someone of such beauty and elegance. I also somewhat deduced that from your cutie mark."

Rarity looked up at J with huge eyes. "Not only a gentlecolt but very intelligent as well. It is very nice to meet you."

J gave one final bow before turning his attention to the pink pony on his other side. They looked at each other for a moment before the pink one, who J assumed was Pinkie Pie, spoke.

"You look really weird." She exclaimed while examining his face. All the ponies around them gasped, even the guards. However, J did not react like they thought he would. Instead, he laughed and got down to Pinkie Pie's level.

"I would have taken offense to that statement but it's kind of hard to take an insult from a small pony that looks pretty weird as well."

Pinkie Pie looked J at sternly while getting closer to his face. She then took one of her front legs and hooked it around J's neck.

"I think we're going to be great friends"

All ponies looked on confused on what just happened. Rainbow Dash then looked at Pinkie and sighed.

"Pinkie, you're so random."

"And that's why you love me." said Pinkie as she appeared right next to Rainbow Dash.

J looked at her surprised. He then looked to where Pinkie used to be and the where she was now. He did that several times until the situation confused him. He then stood up and looked around for the last pony Celestia mentioned, Fluttershy. J looked around until he saw a pegasus who seemed to be scared of him. J slowly walked up to her which seemed to make her hide behind her mane even more then she currently was. J got close to her and knelled down in front of her. This action caused Fluttershy to let loose a small "eep" sound.

"Why do you hide yourself from me Fluttershy?" asked J

Fluttershy looked around and answered softly. "Um... you look really scary."

J smiled, "I only wish to be your friend Fluttershy, I'm not that scary once you get to know me. Will you at least give me a chance?"

Fluttershy started to come out from behind her mane and looked J in the eyes.

"I...I'll give you another chance."

J responded by putting his hand out. Fluttershy reached out with her hoof and laid it in his hand. They both shook and let go. J gave Fluttershy one last smile and a nod before walking back to Celestia. He took his place beside her and looked over to Twilight and let out a small laugh.

"You've got some interesting friends Twilight."

Twilight smiled and looked at her friends. "I sure do."

"Now that introductions are done, I have a very important announcement. After our talk, I realized how valuable J and Isabel would be to Equestria. I myself have asked J to serve as our royal protector."

All the ponies in the room, except Luna, Shining and Twilight gasped. Their reactions were small, however, the guards in the room with them seemed angry. One of them marched in front of the group and looked at Celestia.

"How could you even think of trusting this creature since it hurt the captain of the royal guard and your personal student. What can it do that we can't?!"

Celestia tried to think of something to say to the outraged guard by Shining beat her to it.

"Honestly, I'm confident that J would be a better protector then anypony on the royal guard. He could easily do the guards job by himself. He even sized up to Celestia and Luna but didn't kill them. Instead, he came in peace. He took the responsibility of protecting the princesses with his life and he didn't even hesitate on his decision. In my time as captain of the royal guard, I've never seen a single pony that would make such a commitment. So next time think before you open your mouth."

The guard lowered his head and backed away from the group. Celestia cleared her throat and continued.

"He accepted my offer and took his old title as The Royal Protector up for us."

Celestia looked at J and smiled. "J, I want you to go back with Twilight and her friends to the town of Ponyville. You will be there on royal business. I have detected a disturbance in the land around Ponyville. We assume that it's only a couple of rouge unicorns but we need you to make sure. When you discover the source of the disturbance, please come back to Canterlot and give us a full report."

J nodded, "I gladly accept my first assignment."

Celestia smiled, "Good, when you get to Ponyville, Twilight, I need you to take him to Mayor Mare. I will send her a letter and she will make sure that everypony in Ponyville knows who you are and that you're there on royal duties."

Celestia looked out a window in the throne room. "You better leave know, my little ponies, you train is going to depart shortly."

All the ponies including the guards inside the room left out the front of the door. J and Isabel were about to walk out but Celestia stopped them.

"J, there are two things I need to tell you two things. First, I need you to watch over Twilight while you're there. She has recently become related to royalty and I'm afraid that she might become a target."

J nodded, "I will protect her with my life Celestia."

"The second is that I ask that Isabel remains in Canterlot with us."

J looked at Celestia with steady eyes. "Might I ask why?"

"So that we many teach her how to control her magic better. Also, I don't think that Equestria is ready to meet this new alicorn so I want her to stay hidden for now."

J put his hand to his chin and looked at Isabel.

"I think that would be the best choice."

"What!?" yelled Isabel.

"If you think about, I can teach you magic Isabel but I don't know how to teach you to use your horn or how to use your wings. I know Celestia and Luna can help you with these. I'll be back in hopefully a week to give the full report, in the meantime, stay here and better your understanding of your new form.'

Isabel looked as if she wanted to argue but she just looked down instead. She gave a small nod and walked to Celestia.

"I will teleport you to the train that you will be taking to Ponyville. Twilight and her friends should already be on there."

J gave a slow nod and readied himself for the teleportation. Before Celestia charged her spell J got a wicked smile and said one thing.

"While I'm gone, ask Isabel about witch duchess that tried to get Isabel to marry her."

After the words left J's mouth, the whole room was quiet. Suddenly, Luna burst into a loud laugh. She stopped laughing, looked at Isabel, and started to laugh again. J looked to see that Celestia's horn was glowing now, the spell was ready. She then cast it and J disappeared in a blinding white light. After J was gone Isabel sighed.

"Curse him and his never forgetting mind."

* * *

J opened his eyes, he appeared to be in a room of some sorts. He looked around and saw Twilight and her friend sitting around him.

"Well that's one way to travel." J said

J looked around the train for an empty seat. He looked around and found an empty seat next to Twilight. He sat still until the train started to depart from the station.

"How long will this trip take Twilight?" ask J.

"It usually take around 2 hours to get back to Ponyville." Twilight answered.

J nodded and got up from his seat and walked to the door at the end of the room.

"I'm going to be in this other room, if you need anything, don't hesitate to come ask."

J walked through the door with led into another room full of seats. However, there was a couple beds in this room. J set in a seat next to the window. He sat there for a while watching the scenery speeding by. J put his hood up and let himself fall into sleep.

* * *

J was awoken by something touching his arm lightly. He turned his head to see Rainbow Dash standing right in front of him. She looked like she had a sad look on her face.

"Is something wrong Rainbow Dash?" asked J.

"I've been thinking about what you said in the throne room and I just wanted to come apologize for how much of a jerk I've been."

J smiled, "You are forgiven Rainbow Dash." He then held his hand out. "Friends?"

Rainbow Dash looked at him and gladly accepted his handshake

"Friends." she confirmed.

J let go of her hoof and she asked another question

"So whats this I hear about you knowing magic?"

J nodded slightly. "I'm am one of the few of my species that knows and has the ability to cast magic but it seems that my magic is more destructive in nature then a unicorns magic."

After J said this he cast a simply fireball. The flame started to build in his hand and stopped when it reached about the size of his hand. He then crushed the flame in his hand to disperse it.

"Wow." said Rainbow Dash. "That was really cool but you better not let Twilight catch you casting that stuff. Knowing that egghead, she'd be glued to you trying to get you to teach it to her."

J gave a small laugh and nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash was about to talk again but was interrupted by the train coming to a screeching halt.

"Looks like were here." said Rainbow Dash.

J then stood up and removed the hood from his head. He walked back into the other room with Rainbow Dash right behind him. He found that Twilight and her other friends were getting off the train. J and Rainbow Dash quickly followed them. They stepped out onto the train platform and joined Twilight and her friends.

"This is the wonderful town of Ponyville." said Twilight as the group stepped off the platform.

"I do love small towns." remarked J smiling.

* * *

**Well, here's Chpater 8 for everypony out there.**

**Alright, it's time for the unveiling of the winning topic.**

* * *

**How J aquired his immortality: 24 votes**

**When Isabel left her life of royalty behind to learn under J and how her father reacted: 27 Votes**

* * *

**There you have it. It was really close but on the last day the second option took the lead. I will start working on that chapter and work it into the story schedule somehow.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or tell me about a part you really like or you could do both.**

**Well, I got to go punish the loser *grabs torture equipment* **

**See everypony Monday.**


	10. Chapter 9

The Royal Protector

Chapter 9

The group made their way off of the train platform and started to walk through town. J knew that they have probably never seen a human before. So he put his hood up and allowed the shadows to cover take his face. As they entered the town, the citizens of Ponyville gave the group, especially J, weird looks. As J passed these ponies, he noticed their distinct colors and cutie marks. They all had different colors and different cutie marks. One pony was dark blue and pink mane with a tan coat and a cutie mark that resembled three candies. There were ponies that managed to catch his attention evem more then the others.

One of them was an earth pony with a brown mane and brown coat. He had what looked to be an hourglass as his cutie mark. When J passed him, he looked at him, put his hoof to his eyes and pointed it at J. He then walked away with an angry look on his face. J simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to follow the group. His attention was grabbed by another pony. This one was a unicorn with a blue and white mane. She had a light blue coat and had a lyre as her cutie marks. All she did was stare at J with an open mouth as he passed. J looked at her and sighed. His presence there seemed to be causing an uproar. He contemplated leaving to go ahead and check out that disturbance in the forest but then decided against it and continued following the group.

After a couple minutes of walking and some more weird reactions from the citizens of Ponyville, the group finally reached a building in the middle of the town. Twilight, who was leading the group, turned around and looked at J. She was about to say something but started staring at J. She then flinched and looked away.

"J, can you please take off your hood." she asked.

J complied and removed the hood from his face. Twilight looked up and gave a sigh of relief. J knew that it was his appearance that caused this reaction.

'She must have developed some kind of fear of me in my hood. I did cast that spell on her with my hood up.'

J returned his attention to Twilight who cleared her throat. "This building is the town hall, we're going to tell Mayor Mare that you're here on royal business and that you're no threat to Ponyville."

J nodded and the group entered the town hall.

Inside, J saw a pony who was sitting at a desk writing something. She failed to notice that the group had walked into the building. After a few moments of silence, Twilight cleared her throat loudly and got the attention of the pony sitting at the desk.

"We're here to talk to Mayor Mare." said Twilight.

The pony behind the desk looked up at Twilight, then to her friends, and then to J. She looked back down and continued to write. She then pointed one of hooves behind her towards a door. Twilight seemed to get the message and turned around.

"You girls need to stay out here, only J and myself are going in."

Her friends looked as if they wanted to argue but J didn't hear any retaliation from them. They all simply nodded and walked over to a couple chairs next to the wall. Twilight then turned back around and walked to the door with J in tow. As they walked in, they were instantly greeted by the pony inside.

"I been expecting you J." she called out from across the room.

"How do you know who I am?" asked J as he slowly approached the pony.

"Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Mayor Mare and I know you because Princess Celestia just sent us a letter explaining who you are and what you're here to do."

J chuckled to himself. "That saves me time in having to explain why I'm here."

Mayor Mare nodded. "I'll gather the town later and explain to them why you're here, in the meantime, enjoy the town."

J gave his thanks to Mayor Mare and walked out of the door with Twilight. They were instantly surrounded by Twilight's friends.

"How was it?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Honestly, It was a complete waste of time." said Twilight as she rolled her eyes to her side.

"Where to now?" asked J.

"Since you don't have a place to stay for your time here, I'll let you at the library with me."

"Thank you for your generosity Twilight, I owe you a favor." said J.

J saw Twilight get a huge grin on her face.

'Wait, didn't Rainbow Dash say that she would be glued to me if she knew about the magic I can cast. Does that mean that she loves magic. Then that would mean... Shit.'

Twilight walked to the door of the building and signaled J to follow.

"It's almost nighttime so let's get going. I'll talk to you girls later."

Her and J then walked out of the town hall and back into the streets of Ponyville.

* * *

J and Twilight walked the streets of Ponyville for a good five minutes until they came upon a huge tree. J examined the house and then the sign above the front door.

"You live in a library that's inside a tree?" J said.

Twilight ignored him and walked up to the front door and opened it.

"Quit complaining and get inside." she said while walking inside.

J rolled his eyes and followed Twilight inside. Once inside, J shut the door and turned around. He saw shelves filled with books. He also saw a little greenish-purple lizard thing staring at him. Before it could say anything Twilight stepped in front of it.

"Spike, this is J and he'll be staying here while he is doing his job for Princess Celestia."

Spike seemed to understand more then the ponies J had met. He simply walked over to J, looked him over, and extended his hand. J bent down and grabbed his hand and began to shake it.

"Nice to meet you Spike." said J

"Nice to meet you, honestly, it feels really good to have another guy around here."

J let go of spikes hand and stood back up. He was about to say something but was interrupted by the sound of Spike belching. He looked down and saw two letters on the ground in front of him. J reached down and picked up both the letters. One was sealed with a yellow stamp that contained a picture of the sun that resembled Celestia's cutie mark. The other had a blue stamp on it that held a picture of Isabel's cutie mark. J walked over to Twilight and handed her the scroll with the yellow seal.

"I assume that this is for you." he said as the letter was lifted out of his hand by Twilight's magic. He lifted the onther one up in his hand. "This one is for me."

He then stood up and opened the scroll. He was correct, it was addressed to him and it was from Isabel.

_Dear cheeky bastard,_

_Do you know what you've done. Ever since you told Celestia and Luna about that duchess, they won't stop asking. Every time Luna sees me, she starts laughing. Celestia keeps asking about that duchess, she won't stop. I swear to god J, once you get back to Canterlot, you better prepare yourself. I still have to get you back for that time you threw me in that river. WATCH YOUR BACK!_

_P.S. If I find out that you asked Luna and Celestia to do this, I'm going to rip you to pieces._

_Your loving student,_

_Isabel Hawk._

J finished reading the letter and rolled it back up. He stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Twilight.

J looked back, "I'm just going to look around the town for a while. I'll be back by dark."

Without hearing Twilight's response, J opened the door to the library, walked out and shut the door behind him. He looked around and saw that there were no Ponyville residents near the library. He could walk around freely without being spotted. He then walked down to the dirt path and started to follow it. He eventually came upon a small lake that had a small rocky cliff on one side. He made his way to the cliff and sat down. Below, he had a view of the lake. It was beautiful, the water was clear and the way the sun was shining off of it was hypnotizing. The sun was beautiful as well, It was setting while turning the sky a beautiful shade of orange and purple.

As J watched the scene in front of him, he felt a feeling that was strange to him. He felt at peace, for the first time in years he felt at peace. All of the woes and pains of his life seemed to vanish. This feeling was incredible, it caused J to close his eyes and relax. After a few moments J heard something sit down beside him. He opened his eyes and saw a certain rainbow maned pegasus next to him.

"Princess Celestia did an excellent job with the sunset today." she said as she looked at the sun.

"What do you mean, how does she influence the sun?" asked J.

"Nopony told you that Princess Celestia moves the sun every day and that Princess Luna moves the moon every night?"

J simply shook his head and continued to look at the sun.

Rainbow Dash smiled and stared at the sun with J. There was a silence but it was broken by J.

"This is the first time I've managed to relax in the last ten years, maybe even the last hundred years. I don't even remember the last time I've been able to relax like this."

"Surely there's been time to relax in the last hundred years?" asked Rainbow Dash as she looked at J.

"I remember that a hundred years ago I was serving under a king who's sons were trying to over throw him. After twenty years, the sons were captured and were ordered to be executed. Their own father sentenced them to death at the chopping block. The worst part is that he didn't have the heart to do it. You know who he ordered to do it, he ordered me to execute his sons. To spite the old king, I made it seem that the sons had died by my hand. Once night fell, the sons returned to normal and left the kingdom. After thirty years, the old king died and the sons came back and took their place as the rulers of the kingdom. However, the three sons quarreled among one another and started another war over the crown. I left the kingdom to it's own destruction. My life is constantly filled with death and destruction. I've never had a moment to rest or relax. My life have been a constant battle that seems to never be won. I've only been here for little more then a day and I already have felt something I haven't in one hundred years. I finally feel at peace."

As J finished his long winded speech he looked over at Rainbow Dash to see something that surprised him. He saw tears silently falling down her face. She looked at J with her big tear stained eyes.

"How... how did you even manage to live like that?" she asked.

J laughed and turned his head to Rainbow Dash.

"I found something to hold on to, to love, to take care of, to have pride in. I found a student to take under my wing and teach everything that he or she wanted to know. That's what kept me from turning to hating the world I lived in."

This response caused Rainbow Dash to smile through her tears. J smiled and then looked at the sky. The sun was replaced by the moon and the stars were starting to appear one by one. J stood up and started to walk away. He turned around and spoke to Rainbow Dash.

"I enjoyed this chat Rainbow Dash but I told Twilight that I would be back at the library by nightfall."

Rainbow Dash just nodded her head and continued to look at the sky. J turned and walked back to the library on the same path he took earlier that day.

* * *

As J arrived at the library, he found the door was unlocked. He opened the door and walked inside. He closed the door and looked around, Twilight was no where to be seen. He saw the stair next to him and walked up them. As he got to the top of the steps, he opened the first door he saw. Inside, he found Twilight asleep on her bed. Under her head was a book she must have been reading. Below the bed was Spike who was laying in a little basket on the ground next to the bed. J smiled at the sight and quietly closed the door.

He then walked to the door across from Twilight's room. Inside was a simple bed and a dresser. J stepped inside and shut the door. He assumed that this was a guestroom and started to take off his cloak. He neatly hung the cloak over the foot of the bed. He then took the daggers off his waist and took the longsword off of his back. He laid them on the dresser across the room and walked over to the bed. He pulled the covers back and got into the bed. Sleep was instantaneous.

* * *

"_You will be very important to this world J. You will either save it or destroy it. Nopony can influence your choice. It is yours and yours alone. However, remember that both sides will have it's consequences. Now wake up my child, Celestia's sun waits to greet you."_

* * *

**Here's chapter 9 for all of you ponies out there. I hope you enjoy it**

**I hope you like that little piece of dialogue at the end. It will play into the story here shortly. Also, the story will be returning to it's intended plot after next chapter. **

**Please feel free to leave a comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or tell me about a part you liked or you could do both.**

**See everypony Thursday!**


	11. Chapter 10

The Royal Protector

Chapter 10

J shot up, the room was filled with sunlight from the window. The morning sun was as beautiful as the setting one. J looked around the room and saw that everything was still in the same place he had left them. He then thought back to the dream last night. That voice was calming yet it felt commanding. J didn't know what to think of it, he simply slid out of bed and grabbed his cloak. He laid the cloak on the dresser and grabbed his weapons. He quickly set them in their appropriate place and then slipped his cloak on. He walked over the door and exited the room.

As J walked down stairs, he could hear the clatter of dishes and glasses. He assumed that Twilight and Spike must have already started to eat breakfast. He quickly descended the steps and followed the noise of the dishes and glasses. He then came into what looked liked a dining area. Sitting at a table nearby, Twilight and Spike were eating breakfast loudly.

"Good morning J." called Twilight. "How did you sleep?"

"Great." J replied as he walks over to the table. It was littered with many kinds of food, especially fruits. J reached down and grabbed an apple.

"Why are you in your cloak?" asked Spike as he looked J over.

"I was sent here to do a job and I intend to go do it." J said as he finished his apple and disposed of the core. He then walked to the door and turned around.

"Twilight, what would be the quickest way to the forest from here?"

Twilight swallowed the food she had in her mouth and began to speak.

"Take the path on your right as you leave and follow it. You'll go through a part of the town but you'll be at the Everfree quicker then going completely around the town."

"Thank you Twilight." Said J as he opened the door to the library and walked out.

* * *

J did as Twilight said and took the dirt path to his right which lead into the town like she said. As J walked into the town, he noticed that the citizens of Ponyville that saw him didn't react by running away. They just looked at him, nodded, and continued with their own business.

'Mayor Mare must of addressed the town on who I was.' thought J as he continued through the town. After a couple minutes, J saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack talking next to some stalls. Next to them, J saw three small ponies who were listening to the conversation as well. J walked up to them and gave a greeting.

"Good morning Applejack, Rainbow Dash."

"Good mornin' to yah as well, J, what are yah doin' out so early if yah don't mind me askin'?" said Applejack.

"I was sent here to do a job and I intend to start today. I'm off to the Everfree forest to search for a magical disturbance." J answered calmly.

Applejack was about to answer but was interrupted by another voice.

"You look so cool!" said a voice to J's side. J looked and saw the three small ponies from earlier. There was a pegasas, unicorn, and earth pony. The earth pony had yellowish coat and a red mane with a bow tied into it. The unicorn had a purple and pink mane and a white coat like Rarity's. The pegasas had an orange coat and a purple mane. Something looked wrong with the pegasas though. Her wings were tiny and looked like they wouldn't even be able to hold her up.

"Who might you three be?" asked J.

The three ponies looked at j with huge eyes. "Ah'm Applebloom." said the earth pony

"My name is Sweetie Belle." said the unicorn.

"I'm Scootaloo." said the pegasas.

"It's very nice to meet all three of you." said J.

"Is it true" asked Scootaloo.

"Is what true?" asked J.

"Is it true that you fought the princesses?"

"Well, yes, I did fight the princesses." said J.

"That's so cool, did you win." asked Scootaloo.

J shook his head. "We came to a peaceful agreement."

"There has to be a winner, their always a winner when it comes to fights." said Scootaloo in protest.

"Not always Scootaloo, sometime the best thing to do is to end it peaceful by agreeing to not attack each other anymore. I think it takes talent to end things peacefully with an enemy."

"I never thought of it that way." said Scootaloo.

"I'm glad you see it from a different prospective Scootaloo. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going."

J walked away from the group and head for the Everfree which was in his line of sight. He turned around and called back to the group.

"Rainbow Dash, I'd like to talk to you!" he yelled.

He saw the rainbow maned pegasas bolt over to J. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Let's walk while we talk." said J.

They started to walk before J asked something.

"Rainbow Dash, I noticed that Scootaloo had abnormally small wings, is there something wrong?"

Rainbow Dash looked down to the ground with a sad look. She landed on the ground and lifted her head back up.

"Scootaloo was born with a rare condition that caused her wings to be that small. Pegasi learn to fly at a young age but due to Scootaloo's wings, she isn't ever going to be able to fly."

"That is quite sad." said J.

"That's not even the worst of it." said Rainbow Dash. "Her parents abandoned her when she was a little foal. She's been living in a rundown orphanage on the outskirts of Ponyville her whole life."

"I know how she feels, I used to be an orphan as well. I was adopted by blacksmith who took me under his wing as his apprentice. I remember the day he adopted me. I remember the happiness I felt that day. I felt as if I was the luckiest child in the world."

Rainbow Dash looked to the ground again. "I've thought of adopting her but I don't know if I'm ready for something that serious."

J stopped her before she said anything else. "You have to ask yourself this question Rainbow Dash. Are you willing to sacrifice a few things to help those you care about? For me, that question is easy, yes, I would even given my life for my friends and loved ones."

Rainbow Dash seemed to be at a loss for words. She looked as she was conflicted with herself and didn't know what to do. However, they were near the forest and J spoke up.

"Thank you for talking with me Rainbow Dash but I have a job to do, I'll talk to you later."

J walked away from Rainbow Dash and walked into the Everfree forest completely leaving Rainbow Dash behind.

After a few minutes of navigating the thick brush of the forest, J came upon a clear in the forest. In the clearing, he saw a camp with three unicorns sitting next to a fire. J felt around and felt a huge magical presence in that group. He assumed that this is what Celestia was talking about and walked forward. As soon as he got close to the camp, the unicorns jumped into a battle stance and started to charge their horns. They slowly got closer to J before one of them started to speak.

"This is the creature he told us about. We will kill you and take our place at his side."

Two of the unicorns charged their magic while the third one stayed back. Both unicorn shot a magical bolt at J who easily dodged them. J reached for both of his daggers and threw them. The first one connected to it's intended target and stuck itself in the unicorns throat. The second dagger however, was deflected by a shield that the second unicorn throw up just in time.

The second unicorn continued to hold the shield without any signs of dropping it. J looked around for a way to get him to drop it. He saw that the first unicorn he killed was inside the barrier with the second one. J raised his hand and carefully pulled the dagger out of the dead unicorn with his magic. He then flung the dagger at the unicorn holding the shield. The shield flickered as the unicorn holding stumbled a bit. He then fell to the ground dead and the shield completely disappeared.

J reached the dead bodies of the unicorns and retrieved his two daggers. He set them back into their holsters and faced the last unicorn. This unicorn looked different from the others, he radiated with incredibly dark magic. His eyes were pitch black and a faint black aura surrounded him. J could also see what looked like an outline of of a tall creature. J then came to a conclusion, these unicorns were possessed by something.

"My lord told me that you would be trouble. However, he gave he the means of killing you." said the unicorn who started to take a stance of his own.

He wasn't lying, the unicorns horn lit up and a dark shadow started to cover his body. It slowly spread from his horn to his back, then to his to his chest. It finally reached his head and it was covered by the shadows. The unicorns eyes flashed a bright yellow and stayed that way. After the transformation was over, the unicorn looked like something out of a nightmare. It's horns was bigger and jagged, it's whole body was like someone took a shadow and brought it to life. J panicked a bit when the unicorn stepped forward. He quickly thought and realized that if he could dispel the presence of the one who was possessing and feeding him this power, then he could end this fight quickly.

J charged a spell in his hand, a wayward spell, dispelled summoned beings, object, and was really good at unpossessing people or ponies in this case. After J's spell was charged, he waited for him moment and dashed at the unicorn. Apparently, he must of caught in off guard because it barely moved while J was running at him. He got right up to the unicorn and put his hand inches away from his face. J cast the spell and a bright yellow light engulfed both of them. After the light cleared, J saw that the unicorn was still standing and still looked like he was possessed.

"That's impossible, you should have been freed from the one possessing you." said J as he stood there dumbstruck.

"**This is the power that my lord granted to me. With it I will kill you and I will be rewarded greatly.**" said the unicorn in a deep demonic voice.

J felt one of his daggers being pulled out of it's holster. He looked to his side to see the dagger floating there covered by a dark aura. It brought itself up and made a huge slash going up J's chest. J recoiled back in pain but quickly spun back around just as the unicorn thrusted the dagger at J's stomach. J dodged to the side and grabbed the hilt of the dagger. He then kicked at the unicorn who jumped back to dodge. This gave time for J to slash at the unicorns neck with the dagger. He felt the dagger slice and looked to see if he killed him. The unicorn just stepped back and snorted. The shadow around his neck was gone and his bare neck was reviled. The unicorn's horn lit up and the shadow returned to to his neck.

'His horn is connected to the shadows that surround him, if I can get rid of his horn then I can kill him.'

J pulled out his dagger and prepared to throw it so he could distract the unicorn. However, J found himself covered in a dark aura. He started to get flashbacks about the time Celestia sent him flying towards a wall by using her magic. J quickly tried to find the source of the unicorn's magic so he could cancel it. He looked all over the unicorn but couldn't seem to pinpoint the source of his magic. It was too late, J was sent flying back. He flew straight through the trees that were in his path and left a path of destroyed trees in his wake. J then hit the ground and slid on the ground until he stopped. J groaned loudly in pain and looked around him. The unicorn had flung him back into Ponyville.

"J, are you ok?" he heard behind him. J looked behind him and saw Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle running straight at him.

"I'm fine." said J as the got closer.

"Are yah sure yer fine." asked Applejack. "Yah look pretty roughed up."

"It's nothing but a cut Applejack, I'm fine." said J as he gave Applejack a reassuring smile.

J looked at Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo who were staring at the forest with wide eyes. J looked back and saw the path he made through the forest but that's not what they were staring at. The unicorn covered in shadows emerged from the forest and slowly made him way over to J.

"Get back, all of you!" yelled J as he stepped in front of them. The unicorn didn't hesitate however, he cast a spell that caused a black line shoot at him.

"Move!" J yelled as he dove to his left. J looked up and saw that he was trapped in a barrier. He wasn't the only one to be trapped inside. Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were in there as well. J quickly ran to them.

"Stay behind me and don't move." he said calmly as he turned around to face the unicorn. J looked to his right and saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack bucking at the barrier.

"Go get help, I'll protect them with my life." he shouted at them. They seemed to hear J and ran off to the town.

J looked back to the unicorn. He stood tall and slowly pulled his longsword out of his holster. He began to channel magic into it and spoke.

"This ends here, you will not live past today."

As J finished his sentence, his longsword erupted with yellow energy. He pulled the sword up to a combat stance and ran forward. As he got close, the unicorn put up a makeshift barrier. J simply smashed through the shield and hit part of the shadow surrounding the unicorn. The unicorn backed up and fixed the shadow around itself and continued to fight. J stepped back and slashed the longsword forwards. A crescent shaped wave of magic shot forward at the unicorn. The unicorn barely dodged it and ran straight at J. J swung at him but found that his sword wouldn't move. J looked forward and saw that the unicorn was holding his sword in place. J tried to move his arms and legs but found that they were covered in the unicorns black aura.

J was completely immobilized, he couldn't move at all. He simply watched as the unicorn pulled J's daggers from their holsters with his magic. The unicorn positioned the daggers so that they were pointing at J. One was pointed to his stomach and the other was pointed to his throat.

"**You are weak and you will pay the ultimate price for it. I'm going to enjoy killing you.**" said the unicorn.

Suddenly J felt a sharp pain. He looked down and saw the dagger sticking out of his stomach. It didn't hurt extremely but then the unicorn did something to it. It was surrounded by his black aura and the dagger felt like it was on fire. J screamed in pain, it was unbearable. The unicorn keep charging the dagger until he spoke again.

"**I've had my fun but now you must die.**"

The unicorn positioned the dagger right in front of J throat. J braced himself for the dagger but found something that surprised him. J looked down and saw Scootaloo, she ran at the unicorn and ran into him at full speed. When she hit the unicorn he stumbled back and released his grip on J and focused on Scootaloo. He picked her up with his magic and he started super heat the aura surrounding her.

J noticed this and rushed at the unicorn. If he could remove his horn then all this mess will be over. J focused magic into his right hand and formed it into a fine edge. When he got up to the unicorn, the unicorn noticed him but it was too late. J sliced his hand and the unicorn's jagged horn fell off. The shadows around him went away as well as the barrier that blocked them in. J wasn't done though, he grabbed the unicorn and lifted him above his head. J then quickly brought the unicorn down on his knee, breaking the unicorns spine greatly and killing him instantly.

J dropped the dead body of his enemy and looked around. Scootaloo was okay and was talking to Rainbow Dash. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were being hugged intensely by Applejack and Rarity. J then brought his attention down to his dagger which was still lodged deeply into his stomach. J took a deep breath and grabbed the dagger. He then pulled as hard as he could and yanked the dagger out. He gave a scream of pain and collapsed to his hands and knees. He put his hand to his stomach and pulled it back up. It was covered in blood. J's eyes closed and he blacked out right there.

* * *

"_You fought bravely J, not many can stand up to the corruption and live to tell the tale. Don't let corruption affect you J, it will ruin you. It is time for you to leave again so let me tell you one thing. I am called The Keeper and I ask that you keep our interactions a secret from Celestia. Time for you to wake my child, your friends worry for you."_

* * *

J awoke with a pained gasp, he felt like shit. The cut on his chest stung, the stab wound on his stomach burned, and it hurt to breath. J looked around and saw that he was in a white bed. He was in a room with everyone else. Twilight was in the far corner with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Rainbow Dash talking with Applejack while Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom were next to them. J gave a pained cough and sat up in the bed. All the ponies in the room noticed that he was awake and rushed to his side.

"J, your awake." called Twilight. "Be careful, you were hurt pretty bad."

"What do you mean, how bad was I hurt?" asked J.

Twilight cleared her throat and spoke. "You had a deep cut on your chest, a stab wound on you stomach, three cracked ribs and two broken ones, magical whiplash, third degree magical burns, and you lost a lot of blood. In other words, you were hurt pretty bad."

J laughed and rubbed him hand through his hair. "At least I killed that unicorn before he could hurt anyone."

J turned to Scootaloo. "Thank you for what you did Scootaloo. It was both really brave and it saved my life. If you didn't do what you did I wouldn't be here right now."

J looked at Scootaloo's wings and then remembered what he said to Rainbow Dash.

"_You have to ask yourself this question Rainbow Dash. Are you willing to sacrifice a few things to help those you care about? For me, that question is easy, yes, I would even given my life for my friends and loved ones."_

J looked at Scootaloo again, he could make her extremely happy but it would be extremely painful for him. J found that pain was the least of his worries and spoke.

"I think that someone that has the bravery to take on an opponent twice their size to save a friend deserves a gift of gratitude. I think you deserve something you should have gotten a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" asked Scootaloo.

"You'll see but I need to know if you trust me Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo looked like she was hesitant at first but she nodded quickly. J then smiled her and motioned her to get on the bed and stand next to him. Scootaloo trotted over to the bed, jumped up, and stood next to J.

"Do not move while I do this. Don't worry, you can trust me and I know you do."

J then closed his eyes and started to charge magic into his hands. He then started to prepare himself for the pain he was about to receive. After a few moments, J's hands were glowing with a bright white light. He then opened his eyes and brought his hands over to Scootaloo. He then placed his hands on her wings and began to release the magic.

The first few moments wasn't so bad but then a feeling of pain passed through his hands and traveled through his whole body. J opened his eyes again and saw that they were almost half way done. J closed his eyes again as more and more pain flooded his body. He could even feel blood slowly making its way out of his mouth. J could feel his wounds start flare up as well. He could have stopped at anytime but kept going. He could feel that it was nearly done and gave one more magical push. The remaining magic caused the room to flood with bright white light. Once the light cleared, all the ponies in the room stared in awe. Before them stood Scootaloo who was stretching out her wings. They were just the right size for her body. She gave an experimental push with her wings and she lifted into the air. She kept pushing and pushing and she was flying around the room. Every pony in the room watch Scootaloo fly around the room and then returned their eyes to J who was panting loudly.

Scootaloo returned to the bed and folded her wings back up. She looked up at J and burst into a low sob. She then jumped up and hugged J neck tightly. As she hugged him J could hear her say "thank you thank you thank you thank you."

J looked around the room and saw that every pony was sobbing a little. He smiled and let go of Scootaloo. He then looked at Rainbow Dash.

"Remember what I said earlier Rainbow Dash, I meant it and I would never change that answer."

Rainbow Dash smiled and wiped her eyes. "Come on Scootaloo, lets leave J to rest, he deserves it."

Scootaloo gave J another quick hug and walked out of the room with Rainbow Dash. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. The only pony that remained was Twilight who was still looking at J in awe.

"How did you do that, not even the best Canterlot doctors could fix her wings." she said.

"I used a very dangerous healing spell. It can heal pretty much anything but causes great pain to the caster. I've only used it one other time and after I used it, I was in such great pain that I couldn't move for two days."

"Why did you do it?" asked Twilight.

"Before I went into the forest I asked Rainbow Dash a question. Are you willing to sacrifice a few things to help the ones you care about? I would have done it for you or any of your friends or Celestia or Luna or Isabel. Being a protector isn't just a job Twilight, its a lifestyle. I intend to uphold that lifestyle."

Twilight didn't answer back she just smiled and walked to the door. "I'll let you rest." she said softly as she left the room.

J smiled and laid back down in the bed. The pain from the spell he cast was still present but was subside a little. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

* * *

A figure sat in a chair and watched the events that just happened. The figure smiled each time it saw J heal Scootaloo's wings, He was truly good hearted. As the figure kept watching the events, it failed to notice the shadowy being walk into the same room.

"**He will be a great puppet for my uses.**" said the shadowy being.

"_He is not yours to corrupt, he makes his own choices."_ said the figure in the chair.

"**You will not tell me what I can and cannot do.**" said the shadowy figure.

"_I will not allow you to influence him, I will do everything in my power to stop you._" said the figure as it rose from the chair and faced the shadowy figure.

"**I don't need to waste my time talking to you, I do as I please.**" said the shadowy figure as it started walk away.

"**Remember this Keeper, corruption surrounds everything, I can do whatever I want and I affect anything I want. You will not stop me from achieving my goals.**"

The shadowy figure walked out of the room and disappeared completely.

"_You might be right about how your corruption surrounds everything but you're wrong about affecting anything you want. It's their choice to accept you into their lives. If you forcefully try to corrupt J, I will step in and defend him._"

The Keeper sat back down and resumed watching the recent events.

* * *

**Heres Chapter 10 everypony, enjoy!**

**Due to next week being Thanksgiving, there will be no chapters next week. However, I give you this extra long chapter to hold you off till the Monday after next. **

**Please feel free to comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or tell me about a part you liked or you could do both.**

**See everypony next next Monday.**


	12. Chapter 11

The Royal Protector

Chapter 11

J groaned and opened his eyes, he noticed that he was was still in the same room. He looked around from his laying down position and saw that Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were sitting in a couple of chair close to the other side of the room. J turned his head a little to listen to what they were talking about.

"I still can't believe what J did for Scootaloo." said Rainbow Dash. "Not even the doctors in Canterlot could fix her wings."

"Did you see how he looked after he did it." said Rarity. "He looked like he was in so much pain. I hope that whatever he did hurt him even more."

"Before he went into the Everfree, he asked me if I was willing to sacrifice a few things for those I care about. He told me that he would give his life for those he cared for. I.. I didn't think he would actually cause himself pain for Scootaloo." said Rainbow Dash in a saddened tone.

"Ah think that make two things we should thank him for once he wakes up." said Applejack.

J smiled in his bed and began to slowly sit up in his bed. He groaned deeply and got the attention of the three ponies on the other side of the room. He stood up and noticed two things, He had a scar snaking all the way down his chest and one on his stomach. He had plenty of scars on his body but the ones he just received were a bit bigger than the rest. However, a wound on his stomach was somewhat a rare occasion for him. He then cringed at the thought of what that unicorn did to that dagger once it was inside him. The other thing J noticed was that he was in nothing but his underwear. He looked around and found them folded in a neat pile next to Rarity. He walked over to them and stood right in front of them. He then saw Rarity pick the pile out with her magic and they floated over to J.

"While you were out, I took the liberty of fixing out your clothes for you." said Rarity.

"Thank you Rarity, a kind gesture from a generous lady such as yourself." said J as he pulled his pants and shirt on.

"You flatter me J but it was the least I could do for you since you saved Sweetie Belle from whatever that horrid creature was that attack you." said Rarity as she smiled widely.

"Ah also would like to thank yah fer protectin' Applebloom as well. I can tell yah one thing though, ah never seen her idolize somepony as much as she idolizes yah right now." said Applejack as she took her place next to Rarity.

Rainbow Dash then flew over to J and gave him a hug.

"I never got to thank you for what you did for Scootaloo. You made yesterday the most happiest day in her life."

J laughed and grabbed his weapons which were laying against the wall "I can think of another thing that would make her day."

Rainbow Dash landed next to Rarity and gave a small laugh. J smiled as he saw this and put his sword and daggers back in their appropriate places. He then put his cloak on his body and pulled his boots on.

"Now that I finished what Celestia assigned, I must head back to Canterlot and give her my report. I thank all of you for showing such love and generosity in my stay here and I wish you all a great day."

J headed for the door of the room but heard Rainbow Dash yell out to him.

"What do you mean leave, why can't you stay in Ponyville?"

J turned around and smiled. "I am their royal protector so I must be there in case any matter arise that either endangers them or requires my skills. Don't worry Rainbow Dash, I'll be back to Ponyville. However, it might not be for some time. Feel free to write to me while I'm in Canterlot."

With that, J gave a small bow and left the room leaving behind the three ponies still in there.

* * *

Once J left the building, he found it to be a hospital. He walked away from the building and walked through the streets of Ponyville looking for Twilight's house. As he got closer to the locations of Twilight's house, something hit him on his back, hard, so hard that it knock him to the ground. J quickly flipped around only to see that the thing that hit him was Scootaloo. Behind her was Applebloom and Sweetie Belle who looked out of breath, probably from trying to keep up with Scootaloo.

"Sorry J, I didn't mean to knock you over like that." said Scootaloo as she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof.

J smiled and knelled down. "No harm done Scootaloo."

Scootaloo smiled. "Do want to come with us to our clubhouse."

Applebloom then chimed in. "Yea, we can show yah all the cool stuff we have there."

Sweetie Belle then chimed in as well. "I will be so fun!"

J laughed and stood back up. "As much as I would love to, I'm afraid that I have to go back to Canterlot."

The answer got a collective "Awwwww" from the three ponies in front of him. J frowned and leaned down again.

"If I'm ever near Ponyville in the near future, I'll make time to come visit you three and go see your club house."

Scootaloo and her friends gave a small nod and J stood up once again.

"Have a great day you three." he called out as he walked away.

"Bye J!" they all three called back.

J smiled and turned around to find himself already at the library. He walked up to the front door and knocked. Spike answered the door and let him in immediately.

"Twilight!" called Spike. "J's here."

Almost instantly, Twilight came running down the stairs and stopped right in front of J.

"When did you get out of the hospital?" asked Twilight.

"I left this morning Twilight, I came by to thank you for your hospitality and to tell you that I must go back to Canterlot today."

"Oh, that reminds me." said Twilight as her horn started to glow a soft shade of magenta. All of the sudden a piece of paper materialized in front of J. He grabbed it and looked at Twilight with a confused look.

"What is this?" he asked.

"That's your train ticket back to Canterlot." said Twilight.

J gave a small bow. "Thank you again Twilight, now I will take my leave."

"Wait!" called out Twilight

J looked back to see what Twilight wanted.

"You still owe me a favor and I'm calling it in. I want to know more about your world's magic."

J gave a sigh and rolled his eyes. He thought for a minute before finally coming up with a solution.

"Do you by any chance have a book you don't need?"

Twilight paused for a second before levitating a book over to J. J then set it on a table nearby and placed his hand on top of it. There was a bright flash and the book under J's hand was the same except for the color of the book. He then picked it up and offered it to Twilight who grabbed it with her magic.

"What you have there is one of the first books on magic I ever read. It contains magical information, history, and even magical theories."

Twilight looked at the book and opened it. She looked through it's content and closed it.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"My little secret." said J as he walked for the door. "Take care Twilight, I hope to see you again soon."

He then walked out of the door and headed for the train station.

* * *

The train ride to Canterlot was not a very long one. Before he knew it, the train was already stopping at Canterlot. As the door to the train opened, J was greeted by a familiar pony. Shining Armor was standing there in full armor.

"There you are J, I've been waiting for you." said Shining as he walked up to J.

"How did you know that I was coming back?" asked J.

"Twilight sent a letter to Princess Celestia about you coming back today and she asked me to take you to the castle." Shining said as he and J started to make their way to the castle. After a moment of silence followed by strange views from the nobles that inhabited Canterlot, Shining cleared his throat and started to talk.

"So, how was your mission?" he asked without looking away from the path they were following.

"It was interesting to say the least." said J. "There was defiantly more to that mission than previously thought."

Shining looked up to J and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain once we get to the castle."

Shining nodded and returned to looking at the path. After another moment J spoke up with his own question.

"How has Isabel been doing since I've been gone?"

"She's actually done pretty good. Shes a quick learner and she's learned most of the spells that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She's also managed to learn how to fly."

"That's great." said J in a sarcastic tone

After a couple more minutes of walking, J and Shining finally reached the castle gates. As Shining walked through, the guards saluted and returned to their original positions. When J walked through, the guards just gave him a look of hatred and disgust. J and Shining then started to walk to the throne room and waited for the Princesses. As they stood there, J looked down at Shining and frowned.

"It seems that your soldiers hate me."

Shining looked up and laughed. "You did attack their captain and the Princesses as well. I'm sure they'll come around once you've been here for awhile."

J was about to reply but saw the door next to thrones open. Out walked Celestia, Luna, and Isabel. J and Shining gave their respective bows and looked back up. When J looked up, he saw that Isabel was standing right in front of him. She seemed to be looking him over. After a moment, Isabel snickered a bit.

"You got your ass handed to you didn't you?" she said through her snicker.

"Good to see you too Isabel." J said completely ignoring Isabel's question. She simply rolled her eyes and trotted back over to Celestia and Luna. J cleared his throat and began speaking.

"I come back bearing good news and information."

Celestia smiled. "Tell us everything."

J then spent thirty minutes explaining what had happened when he arrived and when he fought the three unicorns. Luna seemed interested on how one of the unicorns was able to use the shadows to make a kind of regenerative armor controlled by his magic. J then explained how he was trapped in the barrier with Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. He then told them how he cut of the unicorns horn to get rid of its shadow armor and how he broke it's back on his knee. He then told them about his injuries. He finished telling them that the mission was an overall success with no civilian causalities or damage to any property except for a couple trees in the forest. Celestia smiled and looked down to J.

"I am incredibly impressed at the way you handled this assignment J. I would like you to rest, we will call for you when we need you."

J gave a bow. "Yes my Princess."

Celestia then got up from her throne and walked to the door she used to enter the room. Luna and Isabel followed a moment later. Before Isabel went through the door, she looked back at J and frowned. She then proceeded to point one of her hooves to her eyes then to J's. She then drug her hoof across her throat and then walked through the door. The door was then surrounded by a black aura and slammed shut. J let out a low laugh and turned to leave the throne room. Shining quickly followed and asked him a question.

"Since you have some time off, would you like to tour the guard barracks and academy?"

J thought for a moment before answering. "Alright, let go."

After walking through the castle for a couple of minutes, Shining and J walked to a building that was separate from the rest of the castle. They walked inside and Shining started to give him a tour.

"This building serves as the academy for training new royal guards and serves as the barracks as well. There are two types of guards, the royal guards are the ones who protect the city of Canterlot and are deployed out into Equestria if a problem arises. The royal guards also take the duty of being Princess Celestia's personal guard. The other group of guards are known as the lunar knights. They aren't like the royal guard because they don't really protect the city in case of extreme emergency. They mostly serves to protect Princess Luna."

Shining then walked to a door to his right. "Let's go through the barracks first."

J quickly followed and walked into a large hallway that contained many doors.

"Each of these doors lead to a room that contains up to ten guards each, both Royal and Lunar. Right now there is over 2000 royal guards and 1500 lunar knights enlisted in service. However, we only have 200 royal guards and 200 lunar knights here at the moment. At the end of the hallway is the officer barracks. That's were high ranking ponies in each guard reside. Right now there about fourteen of us in there."

They reached the end of the hall and Shining opened the door with his magic. Inside, there was beds on one side and there was a living room area on the other. On the living room side, there was a big pegasus pony sitting at a desk writing something. He noticed Shining walk in and got up from his desk. However, as he got closer to Shining, he could see J behind him. The pegasas pony slowly approached and gave a greeting.

"What brings you back to the barracks so early Shining?" asked the pegasas.

"I'm just giving J a tour of the barracks and academy." said Shining as he looked at the pegasas.

"Wait a second, you mean this is the famous J that I've been hearing about?" Shining nodded and the pegasas pony walked up to J and offered his hoof. "It's nice to finally meet you J. My name is Blackout and I'm the captain of the Lunar Knights."

J grabbed his hoof and shook it. "Nice to meet you Blackout, I assume that you already know about me?"

Blackout nodded. "The soldiers won't stop talking about you. They keep talking about how you attacked Shining over there and his little sister. There has also been rumors that you actually fought the princesses. Is all of that true?"

J laughed. "More or less but that was in the past."

Blackout gave a little chuckle. "I'm glad you're on our side. Anyways, If you're going to the academy next, I'll accompany you there."

Shining smiled and walked out of the room. Blackout and J followed him out and walked back to were Shining and J entered the building. This time they entered the door to the left. They entered another hallway similar to the barracks.

"This is the academy." began Shining. "This is where we train the recruits and make them ready for serves. During their time in the academy, the recruits train according to what they are. Earth ponies are trained to have incredible amount of strength, stamina, and endurance. Pegasi are often used to transport materials or are used as scouts. They trained to fly for hours and must have perfect eyesight for their scouting training. Unicorns are so what different, their train is a little less physical. They train to either use their magic offensively or defensibly. All three types do spar each other from time to time."

Blackout then dropped in the conversation. "They're actually doing it today. Furybolt, Sunspot, and Earth Turner have their recruits in the sparring area if you want to go check it out."

Shining nodded and they made their way to the sparring area. Once they walked inside, they were instantly greeted by two Earth ponies sparring in the middle of the room while surrounded by other ponies. They went on for a minutes before one of the Earth ponies had pinned the other to the ground and gave him a buck to the stomach. They were broken up by a big light brown Earth pony in gold armor. The two Earth ponies got up, gave each other a hoof shake, and separated. The Earth pony then looked around the room and saw that Shining Armor was standing at the door way.

"Recruits, Captain present!" yelled the Earth pony who was giving a salute. Suddenly, every pony turned and gave a salute to Shining Armor.

"At ease." said Shining.

The Earth pony joined by a pegasas and a unicorn, all in golden armor, approached Shining.

"What brings you here today Captain?" asked the Earth pony.

"I was just giving a tour of the academy and thought that it would be interesting to come see you spar with one another."

"It's an honor sir but who are you touring?" asked the unicorn.

"A good question." said Shining with a smile on his lips. "J, I'd like you to meet Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt." he said while pointing at the Earth pony then the pegasus and lastly the unicorn.

J then stepped forward. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you."

This action made all three of the ponies jump back in surprise. They then backed up and looked at J harshly.

"We know who you are." said the Earth Turner.

J growled and got closer to the three ponies. "Why is it that all you guards act so harshly towards me. What have I done to deserve this treatment."

The three ponies ignored his question and talked amongst themselves.

"I still don't see why Celestia picked him, he doesn't look so tough." said Sunspot.

"I could easily beat him to a pulp." said Earth Turner

J then let out a loud hardy laugh.

"Is that what this is all about, how I am the royal protector to the crown." He then looked to Earth Turner.

"Are you willing to stand strong with your words?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Earth Turner.

"You said that you could easily beat me to a pulp and I challenge your words. I challenge you to a spar and I will show you why Celestia asked me to protect the throne."

Earth Turner laughed and walked to the center of the room. "I accept your little challenge and I'll show everypony here that you're weaker then our newest recruits."

J smiled and pulled his cloak off. He then pulled the sword off of his back and the daggers off of his waist. He then handed them to Shining.

"Hold these for me for a while." said J.

"Go easy on them J, I actually need these ponies to teach the recruits." said Shining as he grabbed J's things with his magic and put them into the corner next to him.

J laughed. "Shining, I'm not going to kill them, I'm just going to teach them a lesson and possibly embarrass them."

J then walked to the center of the room and stood face to face with Earth Turner.

'What a way to spend my time off.' thought J as he got into a combat stance.

* * *

**Heres a nice long chapter for everypony who waited over the Thanksgiving holiday.**

**How was everyponies Thanksgiving? Mine consisted of eating till I burst and writing this. I'm surprised that I got this finished. I started writing it on Wednesday and got do with it on Saturday. I was constantly rewriting certain parts so that they would be perfect. My rage got the better of me and I just went with the next rewrite. Turns out that it was the best one.**

**I am happy to say that I am now accepting beta reading requests. So if you want your story looked over by the all seeing eyes of moi, go check out my beta profile and see if the stuff there matches what you want and what your story is.**

**Feel free to leave a comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or tell me about a part you really liked or you could do both.**

**Well, see everypony Thursday.**


	13. Chapter 12

The Royal Protector

Chapter 12

A smaller Earth pony ran into the middle of the ring and looked at both Earth Turner and J. He the started to recite the rules of the spar.

"This is a friendly spar, the first to either pin or knock out their opponent wins. No killing blows or moves that will permanently harm the other fighter."

After the Earth pony recited the rules, he backed up and put his hoof out. He then retracted it and yelled "Go!"

All of the sudden, all of the ponies surrounding them started to yell and cheer. J could ever hear Shining and Blackout cheering. He then turned his attention to the Earth pony in front of him. Earth Turner had begun to circle J and began what seemed to began to berate him.

"You should have been executed for attacking the Princesses but instead they showed pity and gave you a position of power. The princesses must have grown either soft or stupid to let you even live."

The talk about the princesses was infuriating J. The fact that Earth Turner held a position in their personal guard, he insulted them with ease. However, J was not going to attack aggressively because anger can be the thing that brings you down on the battlefield. Instead, J came up with a plan that would insure his victory and humiliate Earth Turner at the same time.

"How could you even say these things when you obviously have no power to enforce them?"

Earth Turner's snorted loudly. "I have more power than you and I will crush you!"

J laughed. "How could you be so powerful, you spend your days training recruits. I doubt you are even as strong as your recruits."

Earth Turner's face turned red from anger. "You'll regret saying that!" He then launched himself straight for J in hopes that he would be able to tackle him to the ground and pin him. Once he reached J, J did something that he wasn't expecting. J jumped over him and simply stood behind him. Earth Turner was outraged, not only had J insulted his rank and honor but he was also making him look like a fool in front of the recruits. Earth Turner then pulled his back legs up and bucked at J. However, Earth Turner's buck was met with something other then J's chest. He looked back and could not believe what he saw. J had caught his leg mid buck.

All the recruits were silent as they saw J catch Earth Turner's buck his his hands. J gave a small chuckle and kicked Earth Turner in his stomach hard enough to get a loud grunt from Earth Turner. He didn't let go of Earth Turner though, he picked him up and slammed him onto the ground behind J. As Earth Turner tried to catch his breath, the small pony referring the spar walked over to them and spoke loud and clear.

"Earth Turner has been pinned and J is declared the winner."

The whole room was silent. Earth Turner had been beaten in one quick string of moves. J got up and helped Earth Turner to his feet. Earth Turner didn't even look at him, he just walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. J took this moment of peace and spoke up.

"Let this be a lesson to you recruits, don't let your anger control you on the battlefield. Emotions cloud both your judgment and perception and it will lead to your death or death of a friend."

After J finished his little speech, he started to walk back to Shining but was blocked by Sunspot who landed in front of him.

"This isn't over yet." she said. "I'm about to show you how real royal guard fights."

"If I wanted to fight a real royal guard, I would spar with Shining Armor." said J as he smiled slightly.

His comment was followed by a symphony of "oooohhhh's" from all of the recruits surrounding him.

"You're anger stuff might have worked on Earth Turner but its not going to work on me." said Sunspot with a sneer.

At the moment, Sunspot launched herself into the air and at J. J quickly sidestepped and avoid the speeding pegasus by no more than an inch. He turned around only to be hit in the face by Sunspot's hoof as she flew by again. J quickly recovered and saw that Sunspot had made another turn and was going straight for J's chest. J readied himself for the blow and waited.

Sunspot then hit his chest and was stopped completely. She backed away and looked up at J wide eyed.

"That's impossible, I hit you going as fast as I could."

J gave a small laugh and looked at her. "I know a pegasus that hits harder than you and she just started learning how to fly."

J then looked at all of the recruits and spoke aloud.

"Another lesson recruits. Don't rely on speed unless you have strength to back it up."

J finished and saw that Sunspot took off again. She was going to try to go full speed towards J again.

'These ponies are incredibly hard-headed.' thought J as he prepared himself again. Sunspot then hit his chest again and got the same results as last time. However, instead of letting Sunspot back away from him, J grabbed her by her wings. He then proceeded to throw Sunspot into a nearby wall. He didn't take his eyes off of her until he heard a satisfying thud from across the room. J smiled slightly and looked into the crowd of ponies. He saw Furybolt step forward and stand in front of J. J looked at him for a moment before Furybolt decided to speak.

"I guess it's my turn." he said while wearing a smile. "I honestly can't decide on what I'm going to do to you."

J frowned slightly. 'Furybolt reminds me of Isabel.' J then smiled slightly. 'This will be fun.'

J then stepped back and shot a small fireball at the unicorn. Furybolt merely stepped to the side and laughed.

"You think that fireball was going to do anything. That was completely novice compared to what I'm going to do to you. Once I'm done with you, you're going to be begging me to kill you."

J groaned slightly and looked at the unicorn.

"Maybe if you spent less time talking and more time paying attention, you would have survived longer."

"What are you talking about?" asked Furybolt.

J rolled his eyes and pointed to the ground that surrounded Furybolt.

"Look down."

Furybolt looked down just in time to see that the fire from the fireball had spread to his hooves and seemed to be holding him in place. He looked up and saw J calmly walking over to him. Furybolt tried to cast a spell but found that his magic was being blocked by something. He looked up at J and panicked. J simply raised a hand and a bright light emerged from it. The light then engulfed Furybolt and then disappeared.

There stood Furybolt who had a thousand yards stare and was drooling slightly. J then dispersed the fire that was around Furybolt and cleared his throat.

"Furybolt, dance for our amusement."

Furybolt didn't say anything, he just started to dace around on his hooves. This caused the recruits to burst into laughter. J laughed slightly and looked behind him. He saw that Shining was laughing pretty hard and Blackout was rolling on the floor laughing. After the laughing quieted down, J cleared his throat again.

"You bore us, Furybolt. Would you please go run it that wall over there."

Furybolt turned and ran straight at the wall. He hit it with a loud clang and fell over immediately. Almost instantly, the small earth pony came back out.

"All opponents have been either pinned or knocked out. I declare J as the winner of this spar."

The crowd of recruits then burst into cheering and whistling for J. He smiled and turned back to Shining. He grabbed his stuff and held them under his arm.

"Lets get going." said Shining. "We should probably get some lunch."

J nodded and they all left the room.

* * *

Shining, Blackout, and J walked to the room at the end of the hallway in the academy. Inside was a dining area with tables all across the room. To one end was a table filled with food. On the other end was a separate table that had a banner hanging behind it. Shining and Blackout got what they wanted and sat at the table with the banner behind.

'Must be the officers table.' thought J as he grabbed an assortment of fruit from the table. He then walked over to Shining and sat down next to him.

"That was quite a show you put on in there." said Blackout. "I can't wait to see the look on Furybolt's face when somepony tells him what he did."

Shining then jumped into the conversation. "I don't think that caused the guards to like you at all."

J smiled. "It sounded like the recruits liked me. Since they're going to be the future guards, I consider that a win in my book."

Shining shrugged and went to eating his food. After a couple of minutes, the recruits from the sparring area started to file into the room. As they entered, they didn't give him any hateful looks, they didn't look mad, they simply smiled and continued on their way. J smiled and leaned towards Shining.

"See what I mean."

Shining gave a small chuckle and watched the recruits as they entered. After about five minutes, all the recruits were seated and eating. J was surprised to see that Shining, Blackout, and himself were the only ones at the officer's table. J turned Shining and asked him a question.

"Shining, where are all of the other officers?"

Shining quickly swallowed his food and answered his question. "Usually, Blackout and myself are the only ones who eat here. All of the other high ranking ponies either eat somewhere in Canterlot or they eat in the castle's dining area. Honestly, I think that the commanding officers should eat with the recruits. It tells them that we are just like them."

"Well spoken." said J.

J then looked around the dining area and smiled. The recruits seemed to be enjoying themselves. J then put a hand to his chin and thought about what he was going to do next. He didn't know how long it was going to be until Celestia needed him again. His thought was interrupted when he saw the door to the hallway open again. The door seemed to stay open for a moment before J saw Celestia walk in the room. He quickly got up and offered her a chair at the table. Celestia saw what J was doing and trotted over and took the seat. Every other pony in the room got up and gave her their best bow. J gave a bow before returning to his sit which was across from Celestia.

"What brings you out here Princess?" asked J.

Celestia smiled, "Believe it or not, I like to come visit the academy to escape from the stress of my day to day duties."

J nodded, "I see, well it's good for someone as important as you to visit the troops from time to time, it builds morale."

"That's not the reason I'm here though." said Celestia. "I'm here for two things."

J nodded and listened to what Celestia had to say.

"First thing I want to know is about what you did in the sparring area, word travels quick through the castle and I've heard some of the guards talk about how J beat Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt in a spar."

J laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, first it started as a simple tour of the academy. Shining took me into the sparring area and introduced me to Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt. The way they acted towards me made challenge Earth Turner to a spar. After I beat him, Sunspot jumped in and attacked me, same thing with Furybolt. I had some fun beating Furybolt."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "I heard about that as well. I have been told that the dance he did was certainly a sight to see."

Blackout gave a little chuckle and returned to eating his food. Celestia continued with what see was saying.

"The second thing that I have to tell you is something that you might not like. I have detected a magical power source similar to the one that was sensed in the Everfree. The only things that are different are that it seems to radiate pure magic unlike the other source. Second, I have reason to believe that whatever I'm sensing, it's stationary."

J took a moment to take all of the information before answering Celestia.

"I'll look for it Princess, were is it located."

"It's located north of Stalliongrad, that's a town that's located north of Canterlot. You will travel there by train but the train ride takes about ten hours to get there. You'll need to leave today."

"Alright." said J.

"Hmmm, I thought you would of complained for not given much spare time."

J smiled slightly. "It's my job to serve and protect you and Luna. I would never complain about any assignment or mission you give me. I will leave today and will look for whatever this thing is."

Celestia smiled and handed J a slip of paper that he recognized as a train ticket.

"I was just wondering, why can't you just teleport me to Stalliongrad?" asked J as he looked over the train ticket.

"Two reason, one, I could accidentally teleport you into a mountain or a structure since it's such a long distance. Secondly, if I were able to successfully teleport you to Stalliongrad, you'd have no way of getting back to Canterlot."

J laughed slightly. "Since you put it that way, I'll take my chances with the train."

Celestia smiled and continued.

"Your train leaves in ten minutes so you have enough time to go tell Isabel goodbye and I can teleport you to the train station."

"Teleport me now, I'd rather not have to face her wrath right now."

Celestia looked at J confused. It took her a moment to realize that he was being serious. She began to charge her horn and kept charging until the magic was visible.

"Good luck J."

J nodded and disappeared in a flash of white light.

* * *

J reappeared at the platform of the train station. He looked in front of him and saw the train and a stallion standing next to the door. J walked up to the pony and asked him a question.

"Is this the train to Stalliongrad?"

"Why yes it is, do you have a ticket?" asked the stallion.

J handed him the ticket that Celestia gave him. The stallion looked it over and then looked at J. He gave the ticket back and motioned J to go inside and stepped aside. J walked inside and found that the train was empty. J moved to a seat next to a window and sat down. After a couple of minutes, the train began to move. J looked out the window and made himself comfortable. It was going to be a long trip.

After an hour on the train, J started to become bored. Sitting in one place for ten hours was not going to be possible for him. He had find something to do. He looked around and saw that the room was still empty. No other ponies had decided to get on the train going to Stalliongrad. J let out a sigh and slouched down lower in his seat. There was nothing to do on the train. J started to close his eyes hoping to get so sleep and maybe to waste some of the time. However, J could hear some voices coming from the room he was in. He got up slowly and began to look the room over.

"Is there anyone here?" he asked in a low voice. He thought that maybe the driver of the train was in the room but when no one answered back. J knew it wasn't the driver. J walked the room a couple times to try and find the source of the voices. He had no luck but managed to cause the voice to get louder. It was now understandable but it was speaking in a language J couldn't understand. J moved his head from side to side, the voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere. It had became loud to the point of it being deafening. It was getting to the point were J couldn't take it anymore. It kept repeating the same thing over and over again. The worse part was that J couldn't understand it. Suddenly, the voice stopped, they just stopped. J looked around and didn't see any doors open or close, he didn't see anything move. He was about to look around the room again but the voice started to say something again. This time, the voice was behind J and it was even louder.

J turned as was greeted with a bright green light. It hovered there for a moment and the it exploded in a burst of green light. As soon as the light hit him, J felt the same falling feeling that he felt when he first entered Equestria. He felt like he was falling for minutes before it ended. His vision was still black but he could sense that something was near him.

"_Open your eyes J, I have things I need to tell you."_

J instantly opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around and saw that he was in a room that was completely white with a throne on the far end of it and a door at the other end.

"Where am I?" asked J.

"_Your in the void, it is the land beings like me can watch over Equestria and protect it from things that threaten it greatly."_

J looked at the throne, he couldn't see anything there. All that was there was a bright figure that he couldn't really make out. J got closer to the throne and asked another question.

"Who are you and why did you bring me here?"

"_I am the Keeper, I watch over the land of Equestria and I shepherd souls to their final resting place. I brought you here to tell you things that will help you in your upcoming travel."_

"Wait, you mean that you guide the souls of dead ponies to either heaven or hell?" asked J.

"_Ponies die everyday J, it is my job to ensure that they are taken to their final resting place."_

"Alright, what did you what to tell me?" he asked.

"_The magic source you seek is not like the one you found in the Everfree. This is a weapon that contains a certain power. One which will be very useful to you in the future. I trust you to use this weapon with the right mindset J."_

The figure seemed to look off into the distance for a moment before returning its gaze to J.

"_It is time that you woke up J, your train nears its destination. Good luck my child, you will need it."_

The was another flash of green light that caused J to close his eyes. When he reopened them, he was sitting in his seat on the train. He looked out the window and saw that the scenery had changed drastically. The once peaceful grassland that J was used to had turned into a desolate frozen wasteland. J felt the train come to a stop and he got up form his seat. He saw the driver walk into his room.

"We have arrived at Stalliongrad." he said calmly.

J nodded and walked to the door of the train. He took a deep breath and opened it. A blast of cold air hit him almost instantly. J looked out at the frozen tundra that stood before him and took a step out into the snow. The town of Stalliongrad was to his right and he could feel the magical signal out into the wasteland. J decided that it would be better if he didn't cause that ponies of Stalliongrad to panic. After making this choice, J started to walk towards the magic he was sensing in the tundra. He didn't know what to expect so he continued with caution.

* * *

**Whelp, here's chapter 12 for everypony out there. Enjoy**

**Inbetween the spar and lunch, I wanted to have Isabel get her revenge on J. However, I decided against it and will be saving it for another chapter. **

**Also, the bonus chapter will be after chapter 13. However, since I have a 12 page term paper due next monday, the only update next week will be chapter 13. The bonus chapter will go up that next monday, December 10th. The updating schedule will then return to normal.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or tell me about a part you really liked or you could do both.**

**See everypony next Thursday.**


	14. Chapter 13

The Royal Protector

Chapter 13

J had been walking through the frozen terrain for 30 minutes now. He was slowly making his way to this supposed weapon that the Keeper had intrusted to him. J was slowly going over his questions that were left unanswered. What is the importance of this weapon? Why did the Keeper trust me with this weapon? Who was the Keeper?

'I know that it must be important since the shepherd of souls of this land intrusts me with it.'

J groaned slightly, he had so many questions that he wanted to ask. He wouldn't get another chance until the Keeper wanted to talk to him again. J looked up from the spot he was standing to see that the horizon stretched so far that it almost seemed endless. J looked down at the snow-covered ground and felt around with his magic. He could feel the source was near him but there was one small problem. The source wasn't a precise spot, it was an entire area!

"There is no way I'll be able to search this whole area before night falls, maybe I should seek shelter in Stalliongrad."

J quickly turned around and started to walk back the way he came. However, he was stopped by a faint cracking noise. He looked down and repositioned his foot on the ground. He pressed his foot lightly against the surface and heard the same cracking noise.

"I must have walked onto a frozen lake, that would explain the flat land." said J out loud.

He panicked a little, the ice he was standing on started to make the familiar cracking sound over and over. The ice wasn't going to hold his weight for long. If he stayed put, the ice J was standing on would give way. If he moved, the ice around him would break and leave him to a cold fate. J thought through all of his choices and decided that if he moved fast enough, he might be able to get off the frozen lake. J got ready to run for it, however, he heard everything go silent. The cracking had stopped and the ice looked as if it was normal again. J straightened slowly and observed the ground around him. It looked safe enough to move around on now. He wondered how the ice managed to stabilized itself in a matter of seconds. J shook that question from his mind and set a new priority.

'I should probably tell Celestia that the disturbance is under a frozen lake.'

J looked around and stepped forward a little. He sighed as he heard a familiar sound rear its ugly head back into his life. J looked down to see how bad the ice was this time. However, he saw something completely different happen. J saw that the ice beneath him had already started to break away, but instead of floating away like ice does in water, it fell straight down.

"Shit." said J as he started to fall through the hole in the ground.

The hole wasn't too deep, it was only a ten foot drop. J landed on the ground at the bottom of the hole with a thud. He looked around and saw that he had fallen into an underground cavern. J looked up and saw that the roof was the ice that covered the ground above. The cavern itself was dark, the ice above was letting through a little light. J held his palm upwards and a small bright orb manifested itself in his palm. The orb greatly lit up the cavern giving J a better look at things.

The cavern's walls were smooth stone that seemed to be covered in pictures. J got closer and started to examine them. One side of the wall was a series of pictures that depicted two ponies, no, Alicorns, that were facing each other. Under them was a picture of sword that was looking as if it was glimmering. Below the sword was the two Alicorns again. This time, one of the Alicorns was laying down and what looked like the sword lodged in it's chest.

J frowned as he saw that the picture below the last one looked as if it was scratched off the wall. J looked around and saw that the cavern continued. He started to walk the path and found himself in a long hallway. The hallway was decorated with numerous pieces of pottery and busts. It reminded J of the way some of the kings he had served under were buried. They were buried in huge underground catacombs built to contain only one body.

"I hope I didn't wonder into a someone's resting place." said J as he continued through the hallway.

As J got closer to the end of the path, he could feel the location of the source better and better.

'The weapon must be in the next room.' thought J.

He finally made it to the doorway that lead to the next room. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

J entered the room and was amazed at what he saw. There in the middle of the room was the weapon that the Keeper mentioned. It was a sword, the light from the orb in J's hand was reflecting off of the blade and bounced around the room. The hilt of the sword was colored gold and a symbol was on it as well. J got closer to get a better look at the symbol. He grabbed the sword but immediately regretted it. There was sudden bright flash as two Alicorns appeared near the front of the room. It was too dark to make out anything so J just stood there and watched.

"They loved you, they followed you." yelled one of the Alicorns.

"I don't need followers or subjects when I have this kind of power." yelled the other in a deep voice.

"Why did you do this to yourself, you're better than this." yelled the first Alicorn as it got closer.

"It promised me ultimate power and it delivered. I am tired of this petty talk, either you're with me or against me. Where do you stand?"

The first Alicorn paused. "I will never side with you."

There was a loud laugh and a slicing sound. Shortly after, the sound of a body hitting the ground echoed through the room. It was followed by another loud laugh and a bright flash.

J jolted back to reality and looked around the room, the Alicorns were gone. It was only him and the sword in the room.

_"What you just saw was a memory stored inside that sword."_ said a familiar voice.

"What was that memory about Keeper?" asked J as he looked around the room trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

_"It was of the death of its last wielder."_

"Who were those Alicorns in that memory?" asked J as he looked the sword.

_"You will find out soon enough J."_

J frowned and turned his attention to the sword. He looked down at the sword to get a better look at the symbol on the hilt. As he pulled it into the light he saw something that caused his curiosity to peak. On the hilt was a magic rune, the same rune that J saw when he was brought into this world.

"Keeper, what does this symbol mean." said J as he was gesturing to the sword.

There was only silence.

"Keeper? Keeper, are you still here?" asked J as he slowly turned his head around the room.

J sighed and lowered the sword in his hand. The symbol left J with even more questions. He then looked around the room and returned his eyes to the middle of it. He let out a small laugh and walked up to the stone table he had placed his eyes on. From where the sword once rested, it's sheath laid on the ground next to the table. J picked the it up and put the sword inside. He strapped the sword across his back and walked out of the room. He walked all the way back to the spot where he fell in at. J looked back on more time and then took out his daggers and plunged them into the wall. He proceeded to use them to pull himself up to the surface.

J got up to the surface and pulled himself up. He then stood at the mouth of the hole and bent down, he knew exactly what to do. J put his hand close to the mouth of the hole and his hand started to let off a faint glow. The hole was then covered with ice that looked identical to the surroundings.

'That should keep anyone form wondering into that hole.' thought J.

J stood back up and started to walk back to Stalliongrad. As he arrived at the town, he saw that the train was still sitting at the station. J walked up to it and was greeted by the same stallion that stood next to the train door in Canterlot.

"Just in time J, I just got back to pick you up." J looked at the stallion, "What, how long was I gone?"

The stallion put a hoof to his chin and thought for a moment. "When I dropped you off, it was close to nighttime. The sun rose about three hours ago. I was able to make it to Canterlot and back here before you managed to show up."

J didn't say anything he just stood there with mouth agape a little.

'How was I in that cavern for that long?' J asked himself.

The stallion looked up at J and motioned him to enter the train. He didn't respond to the stallion, he just walked into the train and sat down in the same seat he rode in before. He looked out of the window and watched as the train started to pull away from Stalliongrad. J sighed and closed his eyes. He thought of everything that had happened since he became the Royal Protector of the Equestrian throne. He thought of the Keeper, he could help but think that it was keeping some information from him. He thought about that unicorn on the outskirts of Ponyville. That unicorn mentioned something about someone who was going to reward him. Who was that unicorn talking about?

"What have I been dragged into?" said J as he leaned back in his seat.

* * *

J made it back to Canterlot by the late afternoon. He saw that Shining Armor wasn't there at the train station so J walked up the streets to get to the castle. As he approached the castle doors, J saw the two guards that were guarding the door tense up. As he approached the door, the guards put their wings up to stop J from entering. J growled deeply and pushed the two guards away from the door.

"I have no time for your stupidity, you should know who I am."

J pushed the doors of the castle and walked into the throne room. Inside the throne room was Celestia and Luna. Isabel must have been somewhere making some guard's life horrible. J approached the throne and dropped to one knee.

"You may rise." said Celestia in a gentle voice.

J stood up and pulled the sword he found in the cavern off of his back.

"This is the stationary object you were sensing." said J as he held the sword out in his hand.

Celestia grabbed the sword with her magic and began to examine it. She pulled it out of its holster and examined the blade. After a moment she slid the sword back into its holster and looked at J.

"It's just like your sword J, there is a magic stored in it waiting to be activated. This magic does not seem harmful so I will let you hold onto the sword for now."

The sword floated back over to J and he grabbed it. He slipped it back onto his back returned his sight to Celestia.

"I think that you are overdue for some rest J, we will give a couple of days to relax." said Celestia.

J bowed again, "Thank you my Princess."

J got up and walked out of the throne room really looking forward to his vacation.

* * *

Three months later

It has been three months since J and Isabel landed in Equestria, one could say that they adapted pretty well. Very little happened over those three months. J was sent on a mission only two times, first to stop a manticore from destroying a small village and the other to stop a riot in the city of Manehattan. Those weren't the only things that happened over those three months. Isabel got her revenge on J for throwing her in that river and embarrassing her in front of Celestia and Luna. Lets just say that it involved a powerful paralysis spell, a small tub, and a couple buckets of ants. Isabel seemed pretty happy about what she did. After that, every day started to turn into a routine. It usually ended with J and Isabel in the throne room all day talking about things that confused any other pony listening. Today was like the rest.

"I'm telling you J, my kill count was higher." stated Isabel as she laid on several cushions in the corner.

"No it wasn't." argued J who was sitting in a chair close to Isabel. "You were hiding behind a building while you randomly threw fire around the battlefield. Maybe if you had the gut to charge in and swing your sword at the enemy then your kill count would have been higher."

Isabel rolled her eyes and looked at the other side of the room. Celestia had walked through the door and was trotting over to were J and Isabel were sitting. J saw her, stood up, and immediately bowed.

"I've been looking for both of you." began Celestia. "I need to tell you something that you might be happy about."

Once Celestia saw that both J and Isabel were paying attention she began to talk again.

"After careful consideration, Luna and myself decided that it was time that Isabel was introduced to the population of Equestria. Isabel, you are going to Ponyville so that they are comfortable in having you around."

Celestia turned to J and spoke. "J, you're going with her to make sure that she stays safe."

She then looked at both of them. "I have arranged for you to live in a vacant house during your stay."

Both J and Isabel nodded and Celestia smiled. "You should probably leave now, you're going to miss your train."

All J could do was roll his eyes.

* * *

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were trotting down a dirt path on their way home from school. For the past three months since J left, he was the only thing they talked about.

"When do you think he's going to come back." ask Sweetie Belle.

"Ah hope it's soon, Ah really wanted to show him our clubhouse." said Applebloom.

"What if he never comes back." said Scootaloo.

"Don't say that Scoots, he'll be back, Ah know it." said Applebloom.

Scootaloo didn't answer back, instead she was watching the train that was pulling into Ponyville. For the past three months, she had been hoping that J would be on that train, but he never was. She was about to look away from the train and fly off but she saw something strange come out of the train. She stopped for a moment and saw a fully cloaked figure step out of the train followed by an Alicorn. Scootaloo didn't hesitate at all, flung herself at the cloaked figure as fast as she could.

"J!" she yelled as she flew at him.

J turned around and was hit by Scootaloo. They both hit the ground. When J looked up he saw Scootaloo sitting on his chest smiling widely.

"Scootaloo, it's great to see you again."

"I missed you so much." said Scootaloo as she jumped off of his chest and hovered in the air.

"I see that you're getting the hang of flying." said J smiling.

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash is teaching me how to fly. She says that I'm a born natural at it!"

J smiled, "I good to hear that, I..."

J was interrupted by the sound of two ponies running at him. He looked to see that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom running towards him. The got close and J's eyes met with theirs.

"J, we missed you so much!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yea, things hadn't been the same without you here." said Applebloom.

"I most certainly missed you three, life in the castle gets a little boring from time to time."

All four were interrupted by the sound of a loud yawn and a groan. J chuckled a little before turning back to the three fillies.

"Looks like Medusa has woken from her nap."

The three fillies looked confused for a moment but then went wide eyed when they saw Isabel step out of the train.

"Scootaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, I would like you to meet my student, Isabel."

Isabel looked at all three of them and smiled.

"It's good to finally meet you three."

All three fillies looked at Isabel and then to J before speaking up.

"You have an Alicorn as a student?!" said Sweetie Belle.

"I know, I find myself wishing that I had a student that listened more, like a frog. I'm pretty sure a frog would listen better then she does." J stated.

The three fillies giggled and Isabel gave J a stern look. He in order laughed slightly and spoke again.

"Isabel, the house that we are living in is just down that dirt path and to the right. I'll be there in a moment."

Isabel nodded and launched herself into the air. After she was a good distance away from the group, J turned back to the fillies.

"I think that it's time I got to see this club house of yours."

The three fillies smiled and began to lead the human to their club house, giggling on their way.

* * *

After about five minutes of walking, the group came upon a house made of wood that sat in a tree. The three got in front of J and started to speak.

"This is the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse!" they all said at the same time.

"It looks amazing." said J.

"You really think so?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Yes, I bet you it looks even better on the inside."

"You wanna see?" asked Applebloom.

J nodded and all four started to go up to the clubhouse. When they got to the door, J had to get on his stomach and pull himself through just to get in. Once inside J looked around the room and sat down.

"We would go do some crusadin' today but we ran outta ideas." said Applebloom.

J pulled his hand to his chin and thought for a second.

"How about a story?" asked J.

"About what?" asked Scootaloo.

J thought for a moment and answered back.

"About the first time I met Isabel and how she became my student."

The three fillies looked at each other and nodded. They moved closer to J and sat down in front of him. J took a deep breath and started his story.

* * *

**Heres chapter 13 for everypony. Enjoy!**

**As said, the bonus chapter goes up Monday. You can read it if you want to because it doesn't effect the story one bit. It's just going to be some backstory to our two lovely main characters.**

**Huge thanks to Frees for prereading my story. I really appreciate the help.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Tell me what you think of the story so far, what has you hooked to the story?**

**See everypony Monday.**


	15. TRP Bonus Chapter 1

**A/N: The story part of this chapter is in first person.**

* * *

**The Royal Protector**

**Bonus Chapter 1**

"Before I start, let me go ahead and say that Isabel used to look like me. She used to be a human before we came to Equestria."

The three fillies in front of J nodded and J smiled.

"With that little bit of information out of the way, lets get started."

* * *

About ten years ago I served under a king named Ty Hawk. He ruled his kingdom with gentle care. He made sure every citizen was happy and that there was no conflict. Before I served under him, he had defeated a society of barbarian warriors that threatened his kingdom. However, small pockets of the barbarians remained and continued to fight the king. The barbarians were attacking the food carts headed towards the kings castle. They would attack patrols and kill the kings best knights. Word of a powerful man who served as a royal protector reached the kings ears and he quickly searched for the man. That man was me.

It took Ty Hawk a few months to find me. Once he did, he paid me to wipe out the last of these barbarian warriors and bring the leader's sword as proof of completion. I did what he asked and brought him the leader's sword. On my arrival to his castle, he offered me a position as his royal protector and I accepted. As my first assignment, I was too search the his kingdom for any surviving barbarian warriors. That task took me only one day to complete. All of the barbarian warriors were gone.

A few weeks passed without any incident. Then, a neighboring kingdom threatened war over something stupid. I honestly can't remember what it was about. Apparently, it was serious enough that Ty Hawk had to send his family out of the kingdom and into hiding. He tasked me to take care of his family until the conflict had come to an end. His wife, Grace, wasn't too happy about the idea. However, his daughter, Isabel, was excited to leave the kingdom. Despite Grace's numerous attempts to talk Ty out of his course of action, we left the kingdom that next morning.

* * *

"What happened the kingdom?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I was just about to get to that." said J as he continued his story.

* * *

The family and myself arrived at a manor owned by a well trusted friend of the king. The very next day, a courier delivered a letter stating that the other kingdom had invaded the castle and drove Ty and his knights out of the kingdom. The letter told us that we needed to remain at the manor till the war was won. If it wasn't, I was instructed to take Grace and Isabel out of the country and go into hiding. So we stayed at that manor until we were told otherwise.

Not even a month later, we received another letter saying that the war was won and the castle was retaken. Ty had pushed the enemy back to their own lands and protected the borders. When we got the news we immediately headed back to the kingdom. We got about thirty minutes away from the manor and we were attacked. A group of bandits saw the royal symbol of the side of the carriage we were riding and attacked. We were easily outnumbered ten to one. Once they had the carriage surrounded, they saw that there was only three people aboard. To them we were easy pickings, boy were they wrong.  
I knew what had to be done to protect Grace and Isabel and I wasn't to happy about it. I had to use my magic.

* * *

"Why were you happy about using your magic?" asked Scootaloo.

"Several reasons, some of them very stupid."

* * *

Anyway, once the bandits got close enough, I acted. Before they knew it, there numbers were down to just three bandits. Lets just say that they didn't last very long. After I was done I turned to see that Grace was giving me a horrified look. At the time, magic was used by witches and warlocks. However, they barely scratched the surface of magic. I only met several people that knew about true magic. However, no matter what kind of magic it was, it was feared and hated by the entire world.

I tried to talk to Grace but she wouldn't even acknowledge me. She just looked away from every time I got near. However, Isabel looked at me like I was a god. I couldn't blame her, she was only sixteen at the time. We got back to the war torn kingdom later that day. Almost immediately, Grace went to Ty and told him that I could use magic. Turns out that Ty had the same mindset as Grace when it came to magic. However, Ty didn't take serious action. Over the time I spent there, I had done so many good things for the kingdom. It saddened Ty to act against me. So instead, he came up with a solution. He told me that I could leave the kingdom and never come back. My name would be pulled from all royal records and I would have never existed in the kingdom. If I didn't find that appealing, the second option was to have both my arms cut off and thrown into the dungeon until I died. I picked the first option and left the castle moments later.

About a year passed since I left the kingdom. Ty stayed true to his word and didn't pursue me. However, one day I got a knock on my door. When I answered, a young woman in a cloak barged into my house. It turns out that this young woman was Isabel, she had run away from the kingdom to find me. When I asked why she left to find me, she said she wanted to learn how to use magic. I laughed like a mad man. She then told me something that surprised me incredibly.

* * *

"What did she tell ya? asked Applebloom."

"Apparently, Ty realized Isabel's fascination with magic and sent her to me."

"But I thought Ty hated magic?" said Scootaloo.

"He did a little but he did not hate it like Grace did." said J as he continued his story.

* * *

Turns out that Ty had sent her to me to learn about magic. Since it was looked down upon, she was to live with me while she learned magic. I was inclined to send her back to Ty but immediately decided against it. So I took Isabel in and agreed to teach her magic. The very next day, twenty soldiers of Ty's guard had surrounded my house. I didn't know what to do. I knew that they were there for Isabel. I didn't know what Ty would break his word and take action against me. As I exited my house, on of the soldiers gave me a letter that was written by Ty. It said,

_Dear J,_

_My wife was angered when she found out that Isabel had left the castle. She sent guards to investigate the surrounding villages to see if they could find her. The guard got information that you had moved into one of the villages and that yesterday, a cloaked woman had entered your house. Grace wanted me to send a group of soldiers over to take Isabel back and to either capture or kill you._

_I've sent twenty recruits to you J. I do not like to waste soldier on anything so this will not happen again J. Grace will be furious when she finds out that twenty soldiers were killed. She will want me to take immediate action against you J. I will do my best to delay the search for you. I will also make sure that the borders are not being guarded. Please take Isabel and leave the country._

_Please take care of my little Isabel. I trust you with her._

_Sincerely,_  
_King Ty Hawk._

I quickly disposed of the soldiers and left the area with Isabel. We moved from city to city dodging the soldiers that had been sent to find us. Eventually we left the country and settled down in a quiet little village. For the last nine years, I had taught Isabel everything that I could about magic. Together, we served about two different kings and was fought many battles. That is how Isabel became my student.

* * *

"Well, that finishes the story, what did you think?" asked J.

"Ah thought that it was awesome how yah managed to avoid the king's guard." said Applebloom.

"I thought it was pretty sad about how you had to leave your home and move around a lot." said Sweetie Belle.

"I liked the part when you defeated those bandits and soldiers." said Scootaloo.

J smiled, "I'm glad what you all think about that story."

J looked out of the window beside him and saw that the sun was going down.

"It looks like it is getting dark outside. I think it is time that I get to my new home." said J with a frown.

J got a collective Awwwww from the fillies.

"You can visit me anytime you like. I will be in Ponyville for a while."

The three fillies smiled at him and lead him back outside. J got back down to the ground and looked back up at the clubhouse door.

"Do you think you could gather Twilight and her friends at the library in the morning for me." The fillies nodded.

"Also, don't tell them why and don't tell them that I returned. I want it to be a surprise."

The three fillies nodded again and waved to J as he left.

* * *

**You all voted for it and here it is. I hope everypony likes it.**

**You'll notice that up top, the title says chapter 1. I hope to have more extra chapters in the future.**

**Huge thanks to Frees for prereading my story.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Please tell me about a part that you liked. What other backstories would you guys like to see?**

**See everypony Thursday.**


	16. Chapter 14

The Royal Protector

Chapter 14

J slowly made his way back to the house that Celestia had gave them. He smiled as he saw that he was back at the train station. If his memory was correct, the house was just down the dirt road. J got to the end of the road and saw a large house with a light inside still on. He walked up to the door and opened the door slowly. Inside, J saw a large living room with a certain Alicorn sitting at the fireplace. He smiled faintly and walked over to Isabel, shutting the door behind him. He saw a chair next to Isabel and the fireplace. He took his cloak and weapons off and set them against the wall and sat down. Isabel looked over to him and raised an eyebrow.

"You were gone for longer than a few moments." said Isabel giving J a mocking glare.

"I was telling those three fillies a story. I guess I lost track of time." said J.

"What story did you tell them?" asked Isabel.

"The one about how you became my student." said J with a smile.

Isabel looked at J annoyed. "You need to stop telling people about that, I don't like it when people know about my past."

J smiled, "I didn't tell your story to anyone."

"What do you mean?" asked Isabel.

"I told ponies not people." said J and he snickered lightly.

"Oh go to hell J." said Isabel.

J laughed lightly and saw Isabel get up from her spot. Before she could move, J quickly got her attention.

"Isabel, before you go anywhere, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, we are going to the library so that you can meet some ponies that I am friends with. I sure you remember Twilight Sparkle from the Everfree forest incident."

"Twilight Sparkle lives in this town?" said Isabel. "Well, I look forward to meeting them tomorrow."

J nodded and watched Isabel head up a set of steps down the hallway. After she was out of sight, J returned his line of sight to the fire in front of him. J looked into the flame and saw something strange. He had heard stories of fires being used to contact the spirits. J never really thought that it actually contacted an other worldly being. In the flame in front of him, J could plainly see a pair of yellow eyes. He blinked a couple times and shook his head. When he looked back, the eyes were gone.

'Either there was actually something in that flame or I'm just going insane.' thought J.

J shook his head one more time before putting the fire out. He then grabbed all of his gear and walked up the steps. At the top of the steps was a hallway with a door at the end, one the left, and on the right. The door on the left and right were open while the on at the end of the hallway was closed.

'That must be Isabel's room.' thought J as he walked to the door on his right.

Inside the room was a medium sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and a window. J walked up to the bed and laid his cloak and his boots at the foot of the bed. He laid his sword and his daggers next to the bed. J then took the sword he found in the cavern and placed it closer to the bed the other weapons. J then pulled the covers back and got in the bed. He eventually feel asleep while listening to the low sound of wind blowing outside.

* * *

J was awoken by the feeling of being shaken rapidly. He looked up and saw that Isabel had a hoof placed on his side. He meet her gaze and frowned.

"Do you want to meet a terrible fate." said J.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "It's the morning, time to get to the library."

J sat up in his bed. "Why are you so happy about going to the library? Besides seeing Twilight Sparkle again."

Isabel looked at J, "Why does it matter, lets just get going."

J sighed and got out of his bed. He pulled his boots and weapons on. He then pulled his cloak over his body and left his room. In the living room, Isabel was standing next to the door looking pretty excited. J reached the door and Isabel opened the door with her magic. J stepped outside and watched Isabel close the door with her magic.

"You know, since we've been here, the only time I ever saw you use magic was when we fought Celestia and Luna and just now." said J as he looked at Isabel.

"Celestia's lessons were quite useful, when she wasn't constantly asking about a certain duchess." said Isabel as she clenched her teeth.

J looked at her, "You over-exaggerated about the whole situation. I'm also sure that you took that revenge a little too far as well."

Isabel looked away from J and walked away. J smiled slightly and followed her. After about five minutes, J and Isabel came upon the familiar tree building that belonged to Twilight Sparkle. They both approached the house and walked up to the front door. J was about to knock but he stopped. He could hear somepony talking from the front door. Who ever they were, they were in the other room. J leaned in closely to listen in on the conversation.

"Why exactly have yah brought us here so early Applebloom?" asked one of the voice that J identified as Applejack.

"I can't tell yah right now big sis, but ah promise that it's important." said Applebloom.

"What would be so important that we had to meet in the library this early." asked another voice.

"Trust us Twilight, it's important, you'll see." said another voice.

He heard Twilight sigh, "Alright, if it's so important, I won't complain."

J pulled away from the door, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo did what he asked. He then softly knocked on the door hoping that Spike would answer it. Apparently, luck was on J's side. The door opened and there stood the friendly purple and green dragon. J looked down and quickly held one finger to his mouth. It seemed that Spike got the message and let him and Isabel in. Once they were both inside, J looked at Spike and he simply pointed to a doorway to the side of the main library room. J walked over to the doorway and motioned Isabel to follow him. Once she got close to him, J brought up his hand which told her to stay here. Isabel nodded and J moved a bit closer. As he approached the edge of the doorway, he could hear the Applejack talking on the other side.

"Hey Dash, when do yah think J will come back ta Ponyville?"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "How should I know?"

Applejack chuckled a little. "Well, yah did seem ta be closer ta him then us."

"The only reason I was close to him was because of how awesome he was. I mean he killed that shadow unicorn thing in one swift motion, even I had trouble seeing how he did it."

"Are yah sure that's the only reason Dash." said Applejack.

Rainbow Dash's face then proceeded to turn a bright red color. Everypony in the room gave a light laugh and everything quieted down.

"Ah kinda wish that he would come back. He made livin' in Ponyville excitin' for a change." said Applejack.

Twilight let out a small sigh. "I wish he would come back too, he left so many questions unanswered. However, his job as Royal Protector has him visiting all sorts of places. The chances of him being sent back here are almost slim to none."

J took this moment to walk slowly into the room.

"If I'd known that you all missed me this much, I would have come back sooner."

All the ponies in the room instantly looked at J. However, Twilight was the first to speak.

"J, your back!"

"Indeed I am Twilight Sparkle, it feels good to be back in Ponyville. I was starting to get sick of life in the castle."

Twilight looked at J confusedly. "What brought you back? You didn't leave Celestia did you?"

J smiled slightly. "No, I was actually assigned by Celestia to come back down here."

"To do what?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"Well since you asked, Isabel, can you please come in here."

After a moment, Isabel walked around the corner and stood next to J.

"I was asked to introduce Isabel to the population of Ponyville. We will be here for quite some time."

J looked down to see that Twilight and her friends were bowing to Isabel. J looked at Isabel and saw a look of annoyance on her face.

"I would rather prefer that you didn't bow to me, I am not royalty in this land and you have no idea how long it took me to pound that statement into the heads of the palace guards."

All the ponies rose and Twilight began to speak.

"It's good to see you again Isabel. This are my friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy."

Isabel looked over each of Twilight's friends and smiled. "It's good to meet all of you. As J said, we were sent here so that I would be introduced to the town. I would be most thankful if helped."

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie shot over to Isabel. "We would love to help. We should got into town and show you Sugercube Corner. Ohhhhh, that would be so fun, I can't wait."

Applejack then walked over to Pinkie and pulled her back.

"We would be honored to show you around town."

Isabel smiled and started to walk to the front door. She was followed by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other and followed as well. As Rarity got to the door, she looked back at Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and J

"Twilight, Rainbow Dash, J, are you coming?" she asked.

"We'll catch up with you in a moment." said Twilight.

Rarity nodded and left the library closing the door behind her. The library was dead silent. J looked back to see two very angry mares giving him death stares. J backed up a bit before saying anything.

"So... how have you been since I left."

Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash seemed to explode in anger. J put his hands up and back even further away.

"Before you rip me to shreds, let me remind you what my job is. I am to serve, obey, and protect the throne of Equestria. Celestia told me as soon as I finished that assignment, I was to go back to Canterlot and report my findings. Believe me, I tried my best to find some free time to come back to Ponyville. Every time I tried to schedule a little trip back here, something arose. I told Rainbow Dash that you could write to me anytime you wanted."

Twilight raised her eyebrows and looked over to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked away and refused to make eye contact.

"I...guess I forget to tell everypony that they could write to you."

Twilight shook her head and looked at J.

"Sorry J, we had no right to be angry at you. You were doing your job."

"That's okay Twilight." said J.

"So how have you been doing at the castle?" asked Twilight.

"Pretty good actually. I sparred against some guards, meet some interesting ponies, found a sword in an underground cavern, stopped a rampaging manticore, quelled some riots in Manehattan, and met enough stuck up nobles to last 100 years."

Twilight chuckled slightly. "Sounds like an interesting three months."

"Indeed it was." replied J.

"You said something about a new sword right?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What does it look like?"

J reached to his back and pulled the new sword out of its holster. He laid it in both palms and brought it down to Rainbow Dash's level. She looked it over multiple time before her curiosity got the better of her.

"Have you used it on anything yet?"

J stood up and shook his head. "I haven't used it since I found it near Stalliongrad. Celestia even told me that it was like my longsword. So I guess that means I can charge magic into it and get some kind of magical effect."

"You should test it out, I bet it could demolish anything." said Rainbow Dash.

"Hmmm, I agree with Rainbow Dash on this J." said Twilight. "There is an old tree just down the road from here, we should test it there."

"Alright." said J. "Lets see what this thing can do."

* * *

After leaving the library and walking down the road, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and J came onto a clearing. Across the clearing were several trees. One of them looked as if it had been hit by lightning. Twilight walked closer and looked at the tree.

"This tree has been dead for a while now, this should make an excellent target for that sword."

J nodded and approached the tree. He drew his sword and held it in front of him. He then began to let his magic flow into the sword. Surprisingly, it was taking in a lot more magic then his longsword would be able to handle. Eventually, J could feel the sword give a response to his magic. J looked down at the sword and saw that it was glowing brightly. He then pulled it back and slashed at the tree.

J didn't even feel the tree when he slashed his sword. Did he miscalculate his slash and miss the tree. How the hell did he even miss. J canceled the magic in his sword and examined the tree. The tree didn't even look as if he had even touched it. Suddenly, the tree started to fall. As it hit the ground, J saw that the tree was perfectly cut. J whistled and let loose a small chuckle. He looked back to see that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were just staring at the tree. J walked over to them but they didn't look away from the tree. J got down to their level and waved his hand in front of their faces. They weren't moving, they just kept staring at the tree like they were frozen in place.

"**You impress me with you sword skills young one.**" called a voice behind J.

J got up and turned to see a shadowy figure standing a couple feet away from him.

"Who are you?" asked J.

"**Names are not important, what is important is how you use your power.**"

"Why do you care so much about my magic?" asked J.

"**You could easily be the ruler of this weak country. You could become the best king that ****ever ruled.**"

"Who are you to tell me what I should do, you have no power over me." yelled J.

"**I am more powerful then you can ever imagine and I can grant you power. All you have to do is to bow down to me.**"

J was now incredibly angry. "You will not tell me who I should bow to. I suggest that you leave before I decide that I want to test this sword on something other then that tree."

The shadowy figure growled and dispersed into thin air. J looked down to see that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were now looking at him.

"Wow, that sword just cut through that tree like butter." said Rainbow Dash.

"That was quite impressive J, we'll look into it later. Right now, we need to catch up to the girls."

J nodded and put the sword in its sheath.

"Lets got find Isabel."

* * *

**Well everypony, here chapter 14, enjoy.**

**The plot is about to get heated up here in the next couple of chapters so buckle up, it's going to be a crazy ride.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Please point out my mistakes or tell me about a part you like or you could do both.**

**See everypony Monday.**


	17. Chapter 15

**The Royal Protector**

**Chapter 15**

J, Rainbow Dash and Twilight walked away from the clearing and made their way to town. J was quiet the whole way there. He was trying to figure out what just happened.

'How in the world did that entity pause time?' J thought to himself. 'Whatever it is, it reminds me of the voice from that memory.' 'I wonder if they are the same person or entity.'

Through all of J's immense thought, he failed to notice that Rainbow Dash and Twilight were trying to get his attention. J saw Rainbow Dash fly up to his face and get his attention.

"J, are you ok?" she asked.

J nodded, I am fine Rainbow Dash, I was just thinking about something.

"A bit for your thoughts." asked Twilight who was looking up at J.

"I'm just a bit worried about what is going to happen next." said J.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Twilight.

J sighed, "Can you two keep a secret?"

Rainbow Dash and Twilight both nodded so J continued.

"Over the past three months I have been contacted by a being known as the Keeper. The Keeper is the one who told me of this sword and told me that I was important to this world."

Twilight tilted her head, "Why are you so worried about this?"

'Because, the Keeper is the grim reaper of this world. The Keeper is the one that guides pony souls to their final resting place."

Twilight's face went pale. "Ok, you're right, you have a right to be worried."

"I honestly don't know what to make of all of this. However, I do have a feeling that I've been dragged into something much bigger then you or I."

Twilight nodded and looked forward. J looked at Rainbow Dash who was walking slowly behind them. She seemed to have a worried look on her face. J looked back to Twilight who seemed to have the same expression on her face except her face was still pale. J sighed and looked straight forward.

"I do know that whatever is waiting for me in the future, I'll be more then ready for whatever it is."

When J said this both Twilight and Rainbow Dash smiled.

"I don't doubt that one bit J." said Twilight.

"Yeah!" said Rainbow Dash as she flew right next to J. "You're the toughest guy we know."

J couldn't help but smile. "You can never tell another pony what I said today, this will be between you two and myself. I will tell the others eventually but know is not a good time."

Twilight and Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement and the three continued onwards into town.

* * *

The town was completely empty, not a single pony walked the streets. As J looked around, he saw that the shops and stalls were closed for the day. However, it was only noon, there was no way they would close this early. J looked down at Twilight who was smiling widely.

"Is there something that you think is funny Twilight?" asked J.

Twilight let loose a little giggle. "Maaayyyybe, you'll see soon enough."

J rolled his eyes and continued walking through the town. They kept walking until the reached a building that looked like a huge gingerbread house.

"This is Sugercube Corner" said Twilight. "I'm sure that Isabel is in here with Pinkie and the others."

J wasn't happy, this still didn't explain why all the ponies in Ponyville were missing or why Twilight acted like she knew something. J saw as Twilight opened the door to Sugercube Corner and inside was nothing but blackness.

J shook his head a little. "What's in there."

Twilight looked around like she didn't have a clue. "I don't know."

J looked to the door and then back to Twilight.

"Fine, I'll play your little game Twilight Sparkle." J then walked past Twilight and into the darkened store. As he walked in, J could hear a faint shuffling sound like something was moving towards him. J placed his right hand on his dagger and readied it in case something decided to attack him. As he took another step forward into the store, the light cut on blinding him slightly.

"**Surprise**." Yelled a bunch of voices in front of him.

Once J's vision steadied he saw that the store was full of ponies. In the front of the large group of ponies stood his friends smiling widely. Even Isabel was standing in the crowd wearing a grin on her face. J looked up and saw a banner that was made for the party.

_Welcome back to Ponyville J._

J stood up straight and pulled his hand off of his dagger. He saw a familiar pink blur shoot over to him.

"Do you like the party? I wanted to throw you the last time you were here but you left before I could throw you one. Then you came back with a new pony so I just had to throw throw a party for you this time. ThenwetookIsabelandthrewhera welcomepartyandthendecidedto throwyouoneaswell."

J smiled lightly and bent down to Pinkie's level.

"I really appreciate the fact that you threw this party for me.'

Pinkie Pie gave a huge smile and shot off into the crowd. The crowd the started to disperse and gather in groups around the store. J took it upon himself to go around and meet the ponies he wasn't familiar with. Currently, he was in a conversation with a minty green unicorn mare that goes by the name Lyra. She seemed so interested in J's hands, almost obsessed if you could call it that.

"I find it so interesting that your hands have many different muscles controlling your fingers in any way you want. I always thought that pegasus wings were..."

J looked closer to see why Lyra stopped talking. He soon realized that see was standing completely still without breathing or blinking. It took J a moment to realize what had happened before he groaned loudly.

"I already told you that I'm not interested in your offer. Now leave me be."

"_He contacted you didn't he_." said a voice behind J.

J turned to be greeted by a familiar shining figure he called The Keeper.

"What do you mean he. I was contacted by some sort of evil spirit that paused time like you just did."

The Keeper sighed, "_I have withheld so much information from you J. I think it's time you knew why you're here in Equestria_."

At that moment there was a bright flash of light. J shielded his eyes from the light and when he removed his hand form his face, he was standing in front of a white throne. The Keeper was walking towards the throne and took a seat. Seconds later the room darkened to almost pitch black. Suddenly, the walls began to light up with pictures. The picture showed three Alicorns and what looked to be their kingdom.

"_A long time ago, three royal sisters resided in a distant land. The land was ruled fairly by the three's mother and father. Love and kindness was known throughout the land while hate and despair was not an issue. Over time, the royal family learned of a nearby land that was ruled by a just and fair king by the name of Order. The royal family was close to establishing a steady alliance with Order but he suddenly withdrew from the agreement and refused to contact them further. The royal family sent a group of their guard to go discover what had become of Order._"

The pictures on the wall changed to images of shadowy monsters looming over a section of land.

"_The guards returned with tales of evil and corruption that loomed over the land itself, forcing its very inhabitants into dark times. The three sister wanted to travel to the land and expel the evil and corruption from it for good. The parents were against the idea and forbid their children from entering the land_."

The pictures then changed to what looked like a greenish Alicorn traveling the land.

"_The eldest of the three sisters was certain that something could have been done for the other land. So one night, she left her kingdom and entered the forbidden land. Almost as soon as she arrived, the eldest sister saw that the land was like anything she had ever encountered. The ponies of the land were suffering under their king. They caused the eldest sister to confront Order himself but to her surprise and dismay, the kind and just king had been corrupted by an entity known simply as The Corruption_."

The pictures then changed to the green Alicorn and a reddish black Alicorn facing each other in what looked to be a throne room.

"_The king offered the eldest sister power beyond belief if she were to bow before him and serve him. The eldest refused and a battle ensured. Order got the better head of the eldest sister and struck her down on the spot with her very own weapon, the sword you now hold in your possession. Order took the sword and corrupted its purpose, turning into a tool of destruction. The corruption that inhabited Order himself changed him into a being of chaos_."

The pictures changed once more, this time they depicted a white Alicorn and a dark blue Alicorn fighting what looked to be a dragon.

"_Word of the eldest sister's death spread to her home kingdom. Her parents were outraged and saddened at what had happened to their eldest daughter. They realized that the king had to be taken out. So the king and queen harnessed the lands magic and created six powerful artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony. They intrusted the other two sisters with the elements and sent them to deal with the corrupt king. The two sisters traveled into the corrupt land and faced the corrupt king who was know calling himself Discord. The two sisters battled Discord and using the Elements of Harmony, sealed him in stone. Both sisters then decided to stay in the land and rule it together. They renamed the land to Equestria and since then have been ruling it fairly_."

J stood there with his mouth slightly agape. If this story was accurate, then that meant that Celestia and Luna created Equestria. That was incredible.

"What happened to Discord?" J asked.

"_He stayed sealed in stone until he broke free of his prison not to long ago. He was then defeated again by the Elements of Harmony and resealed in stone_."

"I assume that the entity that contacted me was The Corruption that took control of Order?"

The Keeper nodded, "_Yes, when Discord was sealed in stone, The Corruption left his body and disappeared completely. He just recently made his appearance through those corrupt unicorn in the Everfree_."

J tried to ask another question but was cut off by the Keeper.

"_You were pulled into this world because you are the only one that can truly defeat The Corruption once and for all. You can't fight him alone J, even you are not that powerful. So let me tell you something that will help you find those who can help you. Four Alicorns and the Elements of Harmony with help but will not win the battle. Three are required to fight. One is wise and powerful, his sense of pride makes him great. One is a being of the shadows, his cunning and slyness makes him deadly. The last is a being of justness and order. To find him, you must look in the spot that most would not. You are one of the three J, it is up to you to find the other two. However, be warned, The Corruption will stop at nothing to put and end to his destruction. Keep your eyes open and ears alert, for The Corruption is lurking everywhere_."

The Keeper finally stopped and J asked one last question.

"How am I supposed to find these other two? I have no idea what I'm looking for."

"_One of them is closer then you think J. All you have to do is look_."

As the Keeper finished the sentence, there was another flash of bright light. J covered his eyes again to block out the bright light. When he removed him hands, he was back in Sugercube Corner.

"...complex but that was until I met a human."

Lyra finished her comment and looked up at J who looked quite pale.

"Are you alright J?" she asked.

J nodded slightly, "I just need to sit down for a moment."

Lyra smiled and pointed to a set of chairs that were set up for the party. J walked over and sat down. He put his hands on his face and thought about what the Keeper had said.

One of them is closer then you think J. All you have to do is look.

J then pulled his hands away from his face and stood up. He then walked back into the crowd of ponies and continued enjoying the party.

* * *

**Whelp, heres Chapter 15 for everypony, sorry for being a day late.**

**I took this chance to explain some of the lore in this story. It will all play into effect soon enough. **

**Big thanks to Frees for prereading/editing my story.**

**Please feel free to comment on the story or leave a review on what you think. Tell me what you think about the backstory.**

**See everypony Thursday.**


	18. Chapter 16

**The Royal Protector**

**Chapter 16**

The party ended in a flash. All of the ponies had left and the ones that stayed behind were cleaning up. J took a seat in one of the chairs and leaned back slightly. All the possibilities of who the two that would help where or what they were for that matter.

'Closer than I think, what the hell does that mean. How am I suppose to find this thing if I have no idea what in the world I'm looking for.'

J slowly got up from his chair and sighed.

"Better start looking then." he said to himself quietly.

J quickly walked over to Isabel and got her attention.

"Isabel, I'm going to head out, please give everypony my thanks and meet me a home once you're done here."

Isabel nodded and J headed for the door. Once he was outside, he started to weigh his options. He could either look further into town or out towards the forest. He was about to go further into town but remembered something the Keeper had told him.

"One is a being of the shadows. His cunning and slyness makes him deadly."

J looked towards the direction of the forest. If it was a being of the shadows, it wouldn't be in the town. J turned and slowly walked towards the edge of the forest. As he walked there, J could feel something watching him, tracking his moves. Who ever it was, they were doing an excellent job of remaining concealed. J then got a brilliant idea, how waited until he passed a building and then cast an invisibility spell on himself. He then moved to a secluded spot to see if anything would happen. More then likely, the person following J would leave there spot to see where he went and the J would strike.

After about five minutes of waiting, J could hear something making its way closer to J's position. J turned his attention to the sound and noticed a bipedal figure walking calmly down the street. J couldn't see anything else until the moonlight came out. Slowly walking towards were J "disappeared" was a human. J was stunned, somehow, another human had been pulled into this world, but why? As he got closer, J could make out so of of his features. He had two daggers hooked to his side and was clothed in a cloak that seemed to conceal his body. What really got J's attention was the fact that he was wearing a mask. The mask looked like it was either wood or bone. It was shaped to look like a skeletons face and had a huge white circle painted around it.

The masked man stopped ahead of J and bent down to examine the ground, probably for footprints. J took this opportunity and quietly made his way behind the man. The only sound that was made was the one of J pulling his new sword out, which he had dubbed as "Light's Edge", placing it close to the mans back, and dropping the invisibility spell. The masked man tensed up and slowly started to raise back up.

"Now lets start out small shall we." said J. "Who are you and why were you following me."

The masked man paused a moment before answering.

"I am Connor Matthius Vylestrem of the White Circle and I was following you because I have no idea where I am."

J paused a moment. "Do you mean the elusive, deadly assassin group White Circle?"

Connor nodded his head and asked a question.

"Who are you and where am I?"

J replied by pulling his sword back and placing it back in its holster.

"My name is J and you are now in the land called Equestria."

Connor turned and got a good look at J. "You're really him aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" asked J.

"You're the man known as the royal protector, the holder of ancient secrets, the greatest teacher to ever walk the earth, the fiercest fighter to have ever graced the battle field."

J nodded quickly, "I'm impressed to see that you know most of my nicknames and titles."

"You were well know throughout our organization. You were even priority number one on the recruitment sheet."

J laughed lightly and turned around. He started to walk back towards Ponyville and motioned Connor to follow him. Once Connor caught up to him, J began to explain where he was.

"Listen up, hold your questions till the end. You are now in Equestria and as the name implies, the inhabitants are all ponies. Right now we are close to the town of Ponyville, this is where I reside at the moment. I really live at the capital of Equestria, Canterlot. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both reside in that town. Right now, I am their royal protector, I work for them and protect them with my life. They are known as Alicorns, the rarest type of pony in this land. The others are unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth pony. An Alicorn is the combination of all three. There are four in existence as of now, I have met three of them. I will introduce you to one of them here in a couple moments, her name is Isabel, she is my student. You so much as make a move against her that I don't like, you'll be out like a light."

As J finished he walked up to the door of his house.

"I welcome you to my humble abode. I will answer your questions inside."

J turned and opened the door. He invited Connor in and they both sat down next to the fire place. J had taken his cloak and weapons off and placed them in the usual spot. Connor had removed his mask and placed it in his lap. In the light of the fire, J got a good look at his face. He had hazel green eyes that seemed to shine in the fire light. His face had two big scars on it, one on his cheek and one on his eye. J leaned back in his chair and started talking.

"It seems that Isabel has not made it home yet. Do you have any questions about the things I told you on the way here?"

Connor was silent. For some reason he was looking down.

"Something the matter?"

Connor let loose a small sigh, "This is just a lot to take in. First, this whole place is completely different and second is that I don't even know how I got here."

J leaned closer to Connor and smiled. "Don't worry about it Connor, the ponies of this land are very kind and forgiving. All you have to do is not make yourself look like a monster that wants to destroy their way of life."

Connor gave a small chuckle and sat back in the chair. He smiled and looked at J.

"What have you managed to accomplish since you've been here?"

J smiled as he thought about his three months spent in Equestria.

"Well, I fought the princesses, managed to put the captain of the royal guard and his sister into an illusion spell induced coma, fought some weird shadow unicorn thing and got my stomach torn apart, fought some more ponies, found a somewhat legendary sword, killing some rampaging beasts, and stopped a riot from threatening the tranquility of a city."

Connor whistled loudly, "That must have taken a while."

"Not really, I've only been here about three months."

The talking continued until J heard the front door open. He looked back and saw Isabel walk into the house. J then proceeded to stand up and signal Connor to follow. They both walked up to Isabel who looked like she could fall asleep at any moment.

"Isabel, I'd like you to meet someone." said J.

"who do you want me to..."

Isabel had looked up and saw Connor standing right behind J. Connor saw Isabel looking and gave a bow.

"Hello Isabel, my name is Connor Matthius Vylestrem of The White Circle. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Isabel looked at Connor and then to J. She rolled her eyes and yawned. She walked right past them and up the steps. J and Connor stood there in silence for a few moments.

"I think she excited to see me." joked Connor.

"Give her a day or two, she'll warm up to you then." said J.

J then walked over to his gear and picked all up. He held it to his chest and stood at the foot of the stairs.

"There's no sense in kicking you out of my house. So you can sleep here tonight."

Connor agreed and followed J up the steps. At the top of the steps, instead of going to the right, J went to the left and opened the door. Inside was a small room with nothing but a bed. J looked back and motioned Connor inside. Once Connor was inside, J said to him.

"If you need me, my room is right across the hall."

Connor nodded and J closed his door. He then went across the hall and went into his room. He laid his stuff down and pulled his boots off. He pulled the covers of his bed back and got in. It took him seconds to fall asleep.

* * *

There was a bright flash and J was back in the white throne room that belonged to the Keeper, only this time he wasn't alone. A couple feet away from him, J saw Connor standing in front of the throne with the Keeper looking at him. J calmly approached the throne and watched as the Keeper and Connor finished what they were doing. The Keeper then looked at J.

"_This is the one that lives in the shadows, J. Before I brought you here, I filled Connor in on everything he needed to know. I found out something interesting as well. Connor is a shapeshifter_."

J looked at Connor and he shrugged his shoulders.

"It makes my job a lot easier."

J looked back at the Keeper. "All that's left is the being of order and justness. Where could I start looking?"

"_Ask Celestia about Discord and what happened to him. You will receive your answer then. Also remember this. The Elements of Harmony can purge any evil magic or being and return the pony to their pure state_."

J nodded and asked one more question.

"Since you showed me that story earlier, I want to know one thing. I know that the two that defeated Discord was Celestia and Luna but who was the eldest sister?"

The Keeper paused a moment before answering.

"_The eldest sister's name was Gaia_."

After the Keeper said that there was another bright flash and J woke up in his bed.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 16 for everypony, enjoy.**

**This will be the last update until January 7th. I hope everypony has a happy holiday.**

**Please feel free to comment or review. Who do you think is the being of order and justness.**

**Big thanks to Frees for prereading/editing my story.**

**See everypony January 7th.**


	19. Chapter 17

The Royal Protector

Chapter 17

J smiled lightly, finally, he got answers from the Keeper. It had taken three months and several injuries but he finally got some information. He pulled himself out of bed and put his clothes and weapons on. He exited the room and went downstairs. As J hit the bottom step, he could see Connor sitting on one of the chairs next to the fireplace. J walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Get up." J demanded.

Connor gave him a rebellious glare but obeyed. He turned around and looked at J.

"I want you to show me that Shapeshifting skill the Keeper mentioned." J said.

Connor nodded softly and stood start up. His skin started to ripple as if it was made of water. After a moment of the transformation, Connor looked exactly like J in every way except for the weapons.

J looked him over and smiled. "That's pretty impressive, It must be pretty easy to assassinate people with a talent like that."

"Well, the men and women of The White Circle were the only ones to even take me in. Everyone else just chased me out of their towns."

"I know what you mean, magic wasn't really liked where I lived. I was chased out of a lot of towns because I was thought to be a demon."

Connor cracked a smile and continued. "Anyway, what are the plans for today?"

J put his hand to his chin to think. "Well firstly, you shouldn't go out in public, you'll cause an uproar. Secondly, we need to tell Princess Celestia of your arrival, she'll want to know about it."

Connor sighed and leaned against the wall. "How are you going to tell your princesses of me, you told me they live about an hour from here and I'm not allowed to go outside."

J rolled his eyes and walked over to a small desk in the corner of the living room. He pulled out a roll of parchment, an inkwell, and a quill. He hastily wrote a note, rolled it up, and sealed it with a seal with a picture of two swords crossed on it. He walked over to Connor with the scroll in hand and held it flat in his hand. Seconds later, the scroll burst into a bright flash of light and was no longer in J's hand. Connor looked at J's palm and then up to J.

"How the hell did you do that?" he asked.

"Celestia taught me how to keep in touch with her in case of emergencies. Right now, that letter is being read by Celestia herself."

"So what did you tell her?" asked Connor.

"All you need to know is that she'll be coming down to Ponyville to meet you. The only problem is I don't know when she'll visit."

Almost as if fate took that as a challenge, a ball of light materialized in front of the front door. It glowed brighter until it dissipated and Celestia was standing in it's wake. She flexed her wings and stared at the two J's in front of her. She looked from J to Connor who was still in the his transformation. She then lowered her head and pointed her horn at Connor.

"J, why is there a changeling standing in your home?" asked Celestia who started to charge up her magic.

"Changeling, out of all the names I've been called, that one actually hurt the most." said Connor in a hurt tone.

Celestia snorted and shot a beam of magic at Connor. Connor simply dodged the blast and watched it sail into the wall behind him. J didn't even see him react, one moment Connor was standing next to him, the next, he was charging at Celestia while dodging magic blasts along the way. J had little time to react, he quickly put himself in between Connor and Celestia and halted the fighting. He pushed Connor back a bit and turned to Celestia.

"Celestia, this isn't a changeling, this is the one I wrote about in the letter. His name is Connor."

Celestia seemed to let up a bit so J turned to Connor and told him to lose the disguise. Connor quickly transformed back and joined J. Celestia seemed quick to answer.

"How did another human get here?" she asked.

J shrugged his shoulders, "All I know is that we were brought here for the same purpose."

Celestia tilted her head. "What do you mean by the same purpose?"

J sighed. "Celestia, I've been keeping a secret from you for the time I've been in your world."

"What would that be?" she asked.

J sighed, he didn't know how he'd go about tell Celestia about The Keeper or about the corruption. It would probably be best to tell her everything.

"After the first week of me being in this world I was contacted by a being known as the Keeper. The Keeper is the reaper of this world."

As J said this, Celestia got a one thousand yard stare and turned pale.

"She informed me that there was a being simply named The Corruption that was returning to the land. However, when I further questioned, the Keeper would push me away. The first time I encountered The Corruption, it was apparently possessing those unicorns in the Everfree. After that encounter, the Keeper started to visit me more frequently, slowly, piece by piece giving me the answers I was asking for. It wasn't until recently that she gave me the whole story."

Celestia glanced back up from her stare. "What story would that be?"

"The story of The Corruption's beginning, the story of Order's reign, the story of the royal Alicorn family, the story of Gaia's death."

"How do you know about Gaia? Her name has been lost to the centuries." asked Celestia with her weak voice.

"The Keeper told me, told me what Gaia did and how she died. The Keeper told me what you and Luna did in response to Gaia's death. I know everything Celestia, the only thing I regret is holding the information from you for this long."

Celestia looked down at the ground with the look of sadness in her eyes.

"It's okay J, I do not blame you for that but what does Connor here have to do with any of this?"

"The Keeper told me that I was the only being able to defeat The Corruption. However, I couldn't do it without help. The Keeper told me to find a being that lives in the shadows who's cunning and slyness makes him deadly. That fits Connor perfectly because back on my original world, Connor was a member of The White Circle. A group of assassins that dedicated themselves to maintaining peace in the world from the shadows. The Keeper told me to also find a being of order and justice. The only thing that I can think about that matches that description is Order but he was transformed into Discord and was sealed in stone."

"He escaped a while back but was returned to his stone prison." said Celestia.

"How did you stop him that time?" asked J.

"I didn't, Twilight and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to reseal him in his prison."

"Wait, did you say Elements of Harmony?" he asked.

"Yes, what of it?" asked Celestia.

J didn't answer, instead he remembered something The Keeper had said to him earlier.

"Also remember this, the Elements of Harmony can purge any evil magic or being and return the pony to their pure state."

J looked to Celestia with wide eyes. "Celestia, where is Discord located right now?'

"He is currently in the Canterlot statue garden. Why is that so important?" she asked J.

"The Keeper told me that the Elements were powerful enough to purge any evil magic or being for that pony leaving them in their pure state. If this is true then that means that Discord is no longer in this world. Instead, Order is the one trapped in the statue."

Celestia didn't answer, instead motioned J and Connor closer and started to focus her magic.

"Get close to me, I'm going to teleport us to Canterlot." Said Celestia after a moment.

J and Connor both nodded and got close to her. There was a burst of light and the surroundings changed. They were in the middle of the throne room surround by both the Royal Guard and the Lunar Knights. J saw Shining Armor and Blackout make their way to the front of the group.

"Celestia what's the problem?" asked Shining.

"No time to explain, you and Blackout gather your men around the Discord statue and form a perimeter."

Shining and Blackout both saluted and immediately moved all the soldiers from the throne room out into the garden. J, Connor, and Celestia followed quickly behind the soldiers. They all reached the gardens and stopped at a statue that looked like a mix between many different animals crudely sewn together. The guards formed a large circle around the statue and lowered into defensive stance. Celestia motioned J and Connor to follow her as she made her way over to the statue.

Once they reached the statue, Celestia turned to J and looked at him with hoping eyes.

"Let's hope you're right about this."

Celestia then turned and looked at the statue. The being it resembled caused so much pain over her life that it was unbearable. Celestia took one final look before charging her magic. After a moment, she released her magic and heard the stone of the statue crack loudly. She took a step back quickly and stood behind J. J on the other hand started to walk closer to the near collapsing statue. After a moment, the statue was surrounded in a bright light and everypony was blinded for a moment. After the momentary blindness, everypony looked to see that the Discord statue was gone. In its place was a groaning red pony. J approached the pony and put his hand on his shoulder. The pony looked up and J saw that he had a horn on his head and wings on his back.

"Are you Order?" asked J.

The Alicorn paused a moment before answering. Suddenly he looked up and gave J and firm glare.

"Yes I am Order."

* * *

**Here's chapter 17 for everypony, enjoy.**

**I hope you all had an amazing holiday and a happy new year.**

**Big thanks to Frees for prereading/editing my story.**

**Feel free to comment or review the story. I'm interested in what you think about it.**

**See everypony Thursday.**


	20. Chapter 18

The Royal Protector

Chapter 18

Order looked around the garden, hiding his sight from the midday sun, and saw the ponies gathered around him. The sunlight reflecting off their armor was unbearable for his eyes. With his hoof blocking out the sun, Order studied the ponies around him. Their armor was something he had never seen. Half of the ponies wore regal golden armor, decorated and polished to it's limits. The rest of them were different, instead of gold, these ponies wore armor of deep blue shade adorned with dark jewels, making them look as night itself.

In front of him was a tall figure, something he had never seen before. It was covered in a brown piece of clothing that covered its entire body, concealing his face in shadows. Order had never seen a creature like this before, not in his lifetime. The creature looked down and placed what looked like claw-like appendages close to Order's neck and. Then it spoke, in a rough, deep voice.

"Are you Order?" asked the creature.

Order hesitated, the way he looked, the way he sounded, this was more than enough for to take action. However, action probably wasn't going to be the best option since he was surrounded by ponies he knew nothing about. Order looked at the creature carefully and answered him.

"Yes, that's one of my names."

The creature pulled his claws away from Order's neck and backed away. It reached for his hood and slowly pulled it down, revealing his face. It's face was tanned with a scar going from the top of it's face down to the bottom. It's mane was dark brown and roughly kept. Order looked upon the creature in fascination, it looked both frightening and peaceful. The creature extended his claws again, only this time, it held them in front of him.

"It nice to finally meet you Order, my name's J."

Order stared at human's hands and then back to his face. He slowly brought up one of his hooves and placed it in J's grip. The human lightly shook Order's hoof and let it go.

"You released me from that wretched prison, how?" asked Order.

"It wasn't me that released you, it was her." said J as he point behind him.

Order looked past J to see Princess Celestia standing their, in all of her glory.

"Princess Celestia." muttered Order under his breath.

Celestia didn't say word, instead, she stood there.

"I...I remember you now, how's your family?" he asked.

Celestia looked at Order in disgust. "More than half of my family died, mainly because of you."

Order looked at Celestia with a furrowed brow. He looked around as if he was looking for an answer. His confused expression turned into one of remembrance after a few moments. Order looked down at the ground and sighed.

"I did not know that my actions while I was corrupted killed your family. It lured me in with promises of power and made me do things that I deeply regret."

Celestia leaned in closer to Order, wings flared. "Regret? You should be ashamed of what you did. You killed my older sister, you repressed your nation, you killed foals because you wanted to. You should wish you could go back and change the past."

J was ready to step in between the two Alicorns but eased up when he saw the expression on Order's face. One of sadness and pain.

"You're right, thinking back to what I did, you should have killed me back then than sealing me in stone. I was aware of the things that were happening but The Corruption assured me it was for the good of my nation. Some king I was."

Celestia backed away looking satisfied at what she had just done. She turned and started to walk away from Order. She stopped only to talk to J.

"He's all yours, I don't want to be near him right now."

J nodded and watched Celestia walk out of the garden. Slowly, the guards left until the ones that remained were J, Connor, Shining Armor, and Blackout. J looked at them and noticed that they weren't leaving. J motioned them over closer and looked back over to Order. Order was sitting down looking at the ground. J sighed lightly and walked over to Order. Order noticed J as he approached.

"Why did you release me, what could you possibly want from me?"

"To be honest, I need your help."

Order looked up at J. "What could I possibly help you with?"

J looked at Order seriously. "The Corruption is back and I need your help to destroy it once and for all."

Without hesitation, Order answered J.

"I'll help you."

"Just like that, you don't even want to think about it?" asked J.

Order stood up and stood in front of J.

"The Corruption ruined my life and got me trapped in that stone prison. I would love nothing more than to banish it from this world."

Suddenly Connor joined in on the conversation.

"I'm not sure how I entered this land or how to leave but I will follow J wherever he may lead me. I will fight with you."

Shining Armor then jumped in.

"At first, I thought you were a monster. However, you fixed what you caused and from then on out, I have had the utmost respect for you. I know the Royal Guard dislikes you J but I know a group of freshly graduated rookies, a handful of soldiers, three certain instructors, and the captain of the Royal Guard that will stand by you."

Blackout was the last one to join in.

"The Lunar Knights respect an honorable fighter and a good leader J. You have the respect, honor, and trust of the Lunar Knights. I know that every Lunar Knight can't be brought into this conflict and that most might believe we are crazy. However, I have several squads in mind that will help us."

J stood up and looked over the four standing in front of him. Four that have chosen to side with J and help him. Order is an Alicorn, meaning his strength on the battlefield would be great. He did rule a kingdom by himself after all. J had only know Connor for a little less than a day and he felt as if he could trust him. Assassins of The White Circle were known to be deadly, efficient, trustworthy, and respectable. Shining Armor had been one of J's closest friend during his time in Equestria. He had stuck his neck out for him and risked losing the respect of his men to gain J's. He was a master at barriers and shields with would prove useful. Lastly, there was Blackout. J had meet him during his time in the castle. Blackout's loyalty to J was known when he helped J stop some manticores from destroying a small village. Then there was Isabel, J's student. She has been with him since the beginning. She has the magical potential that could surpass J one day.

J knew that those five would trust him, look up to him, follow him. They would fight side-by-side with him. J would risk his life for all of them. He looked at all four of them.

"You all do know that there is a chance that you could die from helping me."

"Nothing, not even, the chance of death or worse will stop me from fighting The Corruption." said Order.

"We barely know each other J but from the things I've heard about you, I'd gladly follow you into battle any day, no matter the cost." said Connor.

Shining Armor then spoke. "It is my job to protect Equestria from harm. Most would have walked away by now calling you crazy or insane. I've known you long enough to trust you and every word you say. I would gladly give my life for the safety of Equestria."

"I wouldn't have signed up for the Lunar Knight's if I was afraid of the risk of death." said Blackout.

"Then we prepare for the upcoming fight. Better ourselves so that we may overcome The Corruption." said J.

J looked around to see that answer on their faces. However, they showed no facial movement. In fact, they didn't even move at all. J recognized what was going on an instant reached for his sword. He turned to see the one thing he didn't want to, The Corruption.

"**Hahahaha, you've amassed quite a team to stop me. Both the Royal Guard Captain and Lunar Knight Captain. An otherworldly assassin and one that I didn't expect, Order. You are so blind that you don't see the power you could have if you simply bowed to me J. I promise that I will make you powerful, so powerful that you could never be stopped. As I said before, all you have to do is..."**

The Corruption was stopped mid sentence by a wave of light speeding towards him. He easily dodged it and looked back at J. He was holding "Light's Edge" in an offensive position**.**

"Did I not make this clear the last time you came to me like this. I will never bow to you, I will never give up on my friends. Your words are full of lies and deceit and if you won't leave me alone then I'll make you."

"**You are as insolent as Order was. If you will not accept me then you leave me no choice. I wanted to give you a choice but looks like I'll have to do this the hard way."**

The Corruption rushed straight at J with the intent to make him his agent. He got about five feet from but was stopped by a sharp pain. He looked down and saw J's sword stuck in his abdomen. The Corruption grunted in pain and saw J smirk.

"Wrong move." said J as he started to charge magic into the sword.

After a few seconds, the sword was glowing with white light. J then released his magic and caused the light to flood the area around him. Once the light dissipated, J was displeased to see The Corruption standing about ten feet away from him.

"**The next time we meet, you will die J. I wanted to give you a chance but you ruined it."**

"Let me be clear with you, the next time I see you, I will destroy you."  
The Corruption growled and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. J stood there, silently cursing the fact that he got away. He could feel time speed up as the birds resumed chirping and the wind began blowing.

"Where did J go?" asked Blackout.

"I'm right here." said J calmly.

Everypony gathered around J and looked at him questionably. There was a silence but it was broken by Order.

"He was here wasn't he?"

J didn't answer, instead he just nodded. He looked down at his sword and saw that it was covered in a black substance. It must have come from The Corruption.

"He won't come back to me, I made sure of that."

J wiped off the substance and put the sword back into it's holster. He turned and faced the others.

"We need a plan, a way to defeat The Corruption." said Shining Armor.

"I have one." said J. "I was told to get the Elements of Harmony and four Alicorns not including Order. The only problem is that I only know of three, Celestia, Luna, and Isabel."

"My wife Cadance is an Alicorn. I don't believe you two have met. I can introduce you to her." said Shining.

Order looked at J with a furrowed brow. "Who is Isabel and Cadance? Are they part of Celestia's family?"

"Isabel is my student who was brought to Equestria with me. I'm not sure about Cadance but she probably is related to Celestia somehow."

Order nodded slowly and asked another question.

"Some that's the plan, just get them to join us. I doubt Celestia and Luna want to have anything to do with me."

"They won't join us right now, they will take some convincing. Here's how we should do this. We ask Cadance to help and explain to her the situation at hand. From there we go back to Ponyville, get Isabel, and find out where these elements are."

Shining interrupted J. "Twilight and her friends are the holder of the elements so we can get them in Ponyville as well."

J nodded and continued. "If we are successful in convincing Cadance and the Elements, then we come back to Canterlot with everyone and ask both Celestia and Luna. When they see the amount of ponies that believe something must be done, they will help as well."

"Why not ask Luna and Celestia first?" asked Connor.

"If it were just us five to go up to them and say that Equestria could be destroyed, they would deny any threat. We have to show them that there is a threat by getting enough ponies to help. I am the Royal Protector to the Equestrian throne, it's my job to insure the safety of the land whether Celestia and Luna believe it or not. If we were to go to them with three Alicorns, the Elements, both guard captains, Connor, and myself, then that might be enough to convince them."

"That is quite the plan, but how would we prepare for this fight, we don't know what we're expecting." said Order.

J put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. He then turned towards Shining and Blackout.

"Shining, pass the plan to those instructors and have them start training those graduated rookies again. This time have them push the recruits to their limits. In the meantime gather the amount of Royal Guards that back us and get ready to mobilize them. Blackout, get those squads that you said would help and have them on standby. Once we have convinced everypony to help us, we will train."

J turned to Connor and Order.

"Connor, you are a member of The White Circle. They are known for training their members extensively in sabotage, espionage, and assassination skills. It would probably be best if you took one of Blackout's squads and trained them like The White Circle trained you. Order, you're an Alicorn, I know Alicorns are powerful being that are capable of great magic. You could take most of the unicorns, Isabel, and Cadance and train them to better their skill in magic."

Everypony nodded understanding their role.

"We start with Cadance, Shining can you possibly arrange a dinner so that we all might be introduced to her?"

Shining nodded. "I think she would love that."

J smiled. "Alright, lets get started."

* * *

**Here's Chapter 18 for everypony, Enjoy!**

**Things are about to heat up as we progress into these next few chapters so buckle up and get set.**

**Big thanks to Frees for Prereading/Editing my story.**

**Please feel free to leave a comment or a review. Tell me what you think of the story thus far.**

**See everypony Monday.**


	21. Chapter 19 Part 1

The Royal Protector

Chapter 19 Part 1

It was been two days since J, Connor, Order, Shining Armor, and Blackout vowed to fight the corruption. After they left the garden, Shining and Blackout left to inform the ponies that would help us. J went to inform Celestia that Connor, Order, and himself were going to stay in Canterlot for a couple days. He also asked her to send a letter to Twilight and Isabel explaining his sudden disappearance. Celestia clearly showed extreme hate for Order. She even went as far to give Order an old guest room at the far side of the castle, as far away from Celestia as possible.

For the next two days, J, Connor, and Order wandered around the castle and gardens sharing stories about their countless battles and major victories. Over the last two days, they became close friends. They made their way to the guard barracks to make use of the sparring area there. While there, J and Connor demonstrated their skills to one another in the form of trading blows. A group of fresh recruits watch the fight with pure wonder. The speed both J and Connor were moving at was incredible. Every hit that was blocked sounded as if an explosion had gone off. 3 hours later, the fight was over. It was a clear tie seeing that neither could land a hit on the other.

After the sparring match, the three ate dinner with the recruits and separated to go to their rooms and get some sleep.

"_I see that you have found the being of order and justness." _J heard as he opened his eyes quickly. He looked around and saw that he was in The Keeper's throne room.

"He was right in front of me the whole time and I didn't even notice it." as he rubbed the back of his head.

"_I had a feeling you'd find him, I never doubted you."_

J smiled and looked at the green orb of light that was The Keeper.

"Is there any reason in particular that you call me here?"

The Keeper was silent for a moment but then answered J.

"_I noticed that you have made a plan to deal with The Corruption. I just wanted to say, if you need me all you have to do is call for me, I'll help the best way I can."_

J smiled, "With you helping, I have a good feeling we might actually succeed in this task."

"_Whatever you do J, don't get cocky. That is how Gaia was killed. She was sure that her power alone would have been enough to defeat the corruption. She was wrong and paid with her life."_

"You are right Keeper." said J. "I don't need to get cocky. I am not cocky about our abilities to complete this task, I have faith in them. I trust all of my friends with my life and will do everything in my power to save them. So to say, I'm not cocky, I'm confident."

The Keeper let out a small chuckle. "_You remind me of myself before I become what I am now."_

There was a short pause before J decided to speak.

"Hey Keeper, I have a question about this sword."

"_What would that be J?" _The Keeper asked.

J pulled the sword and began to talk.

"I've made several observations of this sword and I noticed something strange. When I first grabbed the sword, I received a vision about the death of the last owner. According to you, the last owner of this sword was Gaia herself. My question is about the rune on the hilt. It is very similar to the runes that Isabel and myself saw before we were pulled into this world. What does this rune mean?"

"_That rune was something that Gaia used for just about everything. She put it on that sword so all she would have to do was channel magic into it to cause an effect."_

"I now understand what the rune was used for but that still leaves one question. If Gaia is dead, then who's runes were those in the Yree forest that night."

"_I am afraid that I cannot answer this question, I do not know the answer. However, I feel that the answer will be revealed if you are persistent in wanting to know the truth."_

J simply nodded as The Keeper continued.

"_It is time for you to wake J, Celestia's sun waits to greet you. I wish you luck in your upcoming trials."_

That morning, J was awoken by a loud knock at his door. He got up slowly and walked to the door. He opened it and saw Shining Armor standing there.

"J, I have some news that you'll like to hear." he said with a smile on his face.

J opened the door wider. "What would that be?"

Shining cleared his throat and began. "The first thing is that the ponies that I said would help us are gathering in the sparring area to be briefed on the situation. Secondly, I sent a letter to Cadance saying that you wish to meet her. To say the least, she was thrilled to finally get to meet you and scheduled a dinner tonight. I was also able to convince Celestia to let us have a joint training session in the area surrounding Ponyville. I told her it would last at least two weeks."

J smiled, "Thank you for the great news Shining. If you'll give me a moment to get dressed we'll go to the sparring area together and inform the others."

Shining nodded and stood outside the room while J got dressed. J exited the room and followed Shining to the barracks. Once inside, Shining and J went straight to the sparring area. J took a deep breath and stepped through the door. As he entered, he was astonished by the number of ponies in the room. J looked around and saw the graduated recruits turned soldiers that Shining was talking about. Right next to them, J saw Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt talking amongst themselves. In the middle was an even mix of Royal Guards and Lunar Knights. Towards the back of the area, J saw Blackout talking to about 12 ponies, all Lunar Knights. Shining and Blackout held up on their part, everypony they said they could get was here.

J was brought out of his thoughts when Shining started to speak.

"Attention everypony, I bet you all are wondering why we are here this early in the morning. I however, will not be answering this question. Instead, J has come to inform all of you on why Blackout and myself has gathered all of you here."

Shining looked at J and motioned him to speak. J cleared his throat and spoke with authority.

"Only a handful of you know the real reason why you're here so let me go ahead and say it, Equestria is in danger. The thing that endangers our great country goes by one name, The Corruption. Over my three months serving Celestia, I have encountered three times. The first in the Everfree forest were it had took control of three unicorns. The second and third time, The Corruption directly approached me and told me that if I became its loyal servant, it would grant me unimaginable power. Both time I turned it down and drove it away."

"Now I don't expect you to believe me, not at all. Most would have called me crazy and left the room. However, I don't ask you to help as a favor for me, I'm asking you to help for the betterment of Equestria. It is my job to insure the safety of both princesses and to do that, the country of Equestria must be safe. Looking around this room I see many young and able ponies. I see the look of determination in your eyes so I'm not going to lie. Some of you will die from what we are trying to accomplish. The Corruption will not be destroyed without taking a few with it. However, I can't do this alone, I need comrades to back me up and fight the fight as well. If you think that this isn't worth losing your life over then by all means, you may leave right now.

J expected half of the ponies in the room to leave. After a long pause, nopony moved what so ever.

"It feels me with confidence to see that you all are willing to give your lives for this cause. You are all now part of this cause. This is not to be mentioned to the princesses or anypony else unless they are willing to help. The more invisible we keep our operations, the more the enemy won't suspect a thing. In a couple days, everypony here is going to be moved to an area outside of Ponyville. Thanks to Shining Armor, we are under the ruse that it is a simple joint training exercise. While we're there, each of you will undergo training that will prepare you against The Corruption and whatever it can throw at use. So prepare to move out. You are all dismissed."

With those words, all the ponies in the room started to file out of the sparring area. The only ones remaining were Shining, Blackout, and about a dozen ponies that J had never seen before. Blackout approached J first.

"J, I want you to meet the units I was able to get a hold of."

Blackout bolted over to the one of the groups of Lunar Knights.

"These are the Shadow Strikers, the best stealth operatives we have in the Lunar Knights. The moment I approached them with this offer, they immediately accepted."

Blackout then pulled one of the pegasi out of the group. He was about the size of Blackout himself but he was skinny.

"This is Nightshade, the leader of the Shadow Strikers."

Nightshade approached J and stuck his hoof out.

"So I finally get to meet the infamous J I've heard so much about."

J smiled and grabbed Nightshade's hoof and shook it a few times.

"The one and only, so Blackout says that you are the best in the field of stealth."

Nightshade nodded, "Our biggest mission to date was sneaking into the castle of the griffin king and releasing several ponies he had imprisoned there. We got in and out with out killing or alerting the enemies."

J crossed his arms and smiled. "I already have something in mind for your squad Nightshade. I have a friend named Connor that is a human like me. Back in our world, he was part of an assassin organization known as The White Circle. You and your squad will train under him to make you better at what you do for a living."

Nightshade smiled as well, "I can't wait to meet him."

"He's probably in the gardens right now. If you find him, inform him that your squad will train under him. The rest will happen in time."

Nightshade nodded and motioned his squad to leave the sparring area. Blackout then introduced the next unit to J.

"This is a group of some of the best fighters in the Lunar Knights, I like to call them The Reapers."

"Who is the leader?" asked J.

Blackout smiled and walked next to the squad. "I'm the leader."

"You did more then I thought you would. Thank you Blackout, your devotion to a cause is legendary."

"I do my best." Blackout said as he puffed his chest out.

J smiled, "Until we finish our current objective in Canterlot, give your squad and yourself so time to rest and relax."

Blackout nodded and directed the squad out of the sparring area. That left Shining and J all alone.

"That went better then expect." said Shining as he walked over to J.

"I'm just glad that they all decided to stay when I gave them the choice to leave. I warned them of the danger and they didn't care, they want to help."

There was a moment of silence before J began to speak again.

"So, what time is this dinner with Cadance?" he asked.

"It's later this evening, it will be me, you, and Cadance. This should give us the best chance of convincing my wife to help."

"Good." said J. "If everything goes according to the plan, we should be in Ponyville in the next two day. Until then, let us prepare for this dinner."

Shining nodded and led J out of the sparring area.

* * *

Hey everypony, here's the first part of chapter 19, enjoy.

Sorry for being late with the chapter. A snowstorm knocked out the power to my city. So I was without power for about one week. Also, I decided to slow down on the updates. The story is nearing it's final stretch and I want to take time in writing the chapters. So from now on, chapters will be released every Thursday instead of every Monday and Thursday.

Big thanks to Frees for prereading/editing my story.

Feel free to leave a review. Remember, the best gift a reader can give to the writer is a well rounded review.

See everypony next Thursday.


	22. TRP Chapter 19 (Part 2)

The Royal Protector

Chapter 19 (Part 2)

J tugged at the piece of clothing he was now wearing. The ponies who designed it for him called it a tuxedo but the name confused J even more. Shining Armor walked into the room and noticed J messing with the tux.

"If you keep doing that then you're going to mess up the suit." Shining said with a smirk on his face.

"I still don't understand, why would I have to wear this to dinner. It makes me look ridiculous and I feel very uncomfortable with it on." said J as he continued to tug at the collar of the dress shirt that hugged his neck.

"Well that's too bad, Cadance is very impressed with the way ponies handle themselves and she will think of you greatly. If you walked in there with your cloak on and weapons hooked to your back and side, her impression of you will degrade slightly. Just be lucky that the tailors around town were able to whip this up so quickly."

"If looking your best is important to Cadance then why are you not wearing a suit." asked J.

"Because she's my wife, I see her every other day. You are the one that need to make the good first impression." said Shining as he stood next to J.

J was about to talk but was interrupted by a pony in a maids outfit.

"The table is ready." is all she said before pushing the doors open in front of them. J looked at Shining and Shining the same and they both walked in. The room was dimly lit and in the middle there was a small, rounded table. At one side of the table sat another pony who was a color of pink. She saw the two and instantly greeted them.

"Ah, both of you please take a seat."

Both J and Shining nodded and walked up to the table, pulled a chair out and sat down. Once they were seated, the pony began.

"It's finally good to meet you J, I've heard so much about you from my husband Shining Armor. He told me that you had never heard of me before and wished to how this dinner to get to know each other better. My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza but you may call me Cadance. I am an Alicorn like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I am also their niece."

Cadance finished and looked at J. J noticed and began.

"My name is J and it is very nice to finally meet you Princess Cadance. As you probably know, I am not form this land. In my land I was know as The Royal Protector but secretly, I was a Magus, or spell weaver, whatever you want to call it."

"So you know how to use magic?" asked Cadance as she leaned in closer.

"Yes, I do. However, the magic from my world compared to yours, is more destructive and dangerous."

Cadance nodded. "I figured that when I received the new about what happened to Shining Armor in the Everfree. What do you do to him?"

"Well, I met Shining in the Everfree, he tried to take Isabel from me."

"Who is Isabel?" asked Cadance interrupting J.

"Isabel was my student that got dragged into this world with me. Upon entering this world, Isabel was transformed into an Alicorn. Right now, she is currently in Ponyville wondering where I am."

Cadance nodded and let J continue.

"Anyway, Shining demanded that Isabel, being an Alicorn, come back with him to Canterlot. I made myself know and would not allow them. Shining sent two guards they had with them at me and I defeated them with ease. In the chaos of the fight, I casted two spells, one was a paralysis spell, the other was an illusion. Basically the things the victim heard, happened to them in their head. I admit to it being a bit over the top but I was protecting my student."

"I have to admit, when I first heard this news, I was quite anger. Then I received a letter from Shining saying that you fixed him and was now an ally to Equestria."

Cadance laughed lightly and looked back at J. "I have to admit, having a creature like you frightened and angered me, now that I see the way you act, I feel bad for judging you so harshly."

J was about to interject but was interrupted once again by the sound of doors opening. J looked back to see about six ponies bringing in food on silver platters. Hey set the trays down and left as soon as they arrived. On the trays was everything from fruit to vegetables, even different types of sandwiches and pasta dishes.

"Let's eat." said Cadance said as she grabbed for some of the fruit. J smiled and grabbed a little of everything and started to eat.

* * *

After about an hour of eating and discussing many topics, dinner was over. Cadance was talking about the Changeling invasion on her wedding day and how the Changeling Queen took her place. As they talked J saw the maids come back out from the corner of his eye. He didn't think anything of it until he saw that only one maid came forward and did so very quietly. The maid got behind and opened it's mouth. J could clearly see two fangs jutting out of the maids mouth and slowly make its way to Cadance. As the maid got close it jump into action and lunged at Cadance. J saw this and quickly grabbed the first thing he saw, a silver butter knife. He grabbed the blade part and threw it at the lunging maid. The knife connected to the maids neck and see was stopped dead in her tracks.

Cadance jump back at the knife that J had thrown. She was about to demand why he threw it but heard it hit something to her left so she turned to see what it was. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the dead body of the maid with a knife in her neck. However, see wasn't normal, she had fangs, fangs! Cadance quickly got out of her chair and backpedaled over to were J and Shining was sitting. J on the other hand, got up and removed the knife form the maids neck. He placed it on the table and examined the maid's body. As he began to look at the body, it was covered in smoke. It dissipated quickly and revealed an insect like pony with clear wings and a crooked horn. J instantly knew what it was, Cadance had been talking about it not even five minutes ago. It was a changeling.

J looked up to see the rest of the maids had crept closer to him. Their eyes glowed green briefly before shifting into the same insect form as the body on the floor. J walked towards them slightly.

"Why are changelings still in the kingdom, I thought you were all pushed out by a spell."

The changeling in the middle stepped forward slightly and answered him.

"Our business is with Princess Cadance and nopony else. Step aside or will remove you."

J looked at the five in front of him and then looked at Shining and Cadance behind him.

"Well, you can try to remove me but I don't think it will work out like you think it will." J said with a half smirk.

Suddenly two of the changelings rushed J hoping to get the upper hand. J saw this and planted the sole of his foot of the head of the first changeling that neared him and he kicked it back, hard. The changeling J kicked flew back and hit the wall behind the others. Blood started to pour from its mouth as it laid on the ground. The second changeling took this opportunity and jumped at J's arm, latching his teeth onto his arm. It bit down hard and was intent on keeping its hold. J looked at it and began to focus magic into his arm. Suddenly, the changeling latched to J's arm caught on fire and fell to the floor. J saw as the three remaining changelings watched in horror as the body of their comrade burnt to ash. Immediately, one of them lunged towards J only to be stopped by J's hand. He picked up the changeling up by its throat and squeezed hard. It started to squirm in his hand and gave J a sad look. J looked at the changeling and clenched his teeth, he threw the changeling at the others and watched as it toppled the others over.

J quickly charged his magic and slammed his hands on the ground, forming a purple rune circle. A purple line shot out from the circle and circled the changelings. Purple eternal chains shot out from the circle and tightly bound the three remaining changelings. J let loose a small sigh and turned to see Shining standing in front of Cadance.

"They're secured." he said calmly as he walked over to the two ponies.

"What did you cast?" said Cadance as she looked at the three bound changelings.

"It was a rune binding spell, the only way they can get out is if I let them or I'm unconscious."

J looked back at the three changelings and turned back to Shining.

"Shining, go get some guards to take them away, I'll stay back and knock them out so they can be transported with safety."

Shining nodded and quickly ran out of the room yelling for the nearest guard. J walked towards the changelings and kneeled down.

"Why did you attack Cadance?" J asked one of the changelings.

The black pony looked up at him and smirked.

"The Dark One wishes her to be dead. We will fulfill this wish so the Dark One will be pleased with us."

J smiled and pressed a finger to the changelings head. "That's all I needed to know." J said as he finger lit up. The changelings eyes rolled back into his head and he was out cold. J did the same to the other changelings before three guards arrived to take the changelings away. J released the spell and handed the changelings over to the guards. With the changelings gone, J returned to Cadance and Shining who were standing next to the door. J approached them.

"I am afraid I have some bad news." he said in a hushed tone.

"What's wrong?" asked Shining. However, he didn't get an answer, he saw J motioned them outside of the room. Shining motioned Cadance to follow as he exited the room to follow J. After about five minutes of walking, they were outside of the castle. J then turned to Shining and started to talk.

"The Corruption wants Cadance dead." he said quickly.

J was surprised when Cadance had beaten Shining to reacting.

"What do you mean? What's The Corruption? Why does it want me dead?" asked Cadance in a fury of questions.

J sighed and looked at Cadance.

"Cadance, there was another reason for having this dinner tonight. I need your help. The thing that wants you dead is known as The Corruption. It is an evil entity that wishes for nothing more than Equstria's destruction. I was told by another entity known as The Keeper that I could destroy The Corruption but that I couldn't do it alone. I had to amass a group of ponies that would be willing to fight The Corruption. However, The Keeper told me that I should have the four Alicorns of the world helping as well. I want to ask if you would help us. As of now, our group consists of Shining, Blackout, 20-30 guard ponies, two close friends called Connor and Order, and Isabel."

J saw Cadance look around thinking of an answer.

"Cadance, It's my job to protect Equestria and I'm asking if you'll stand by me, by Equestria, by your own husband and fight for its safety."

Cadance looked down and then looked J straight in the eyes.

"I'll agree to help on one condition, tell me everything about The Corruption and The Keeper."

J, without hesitation said "yes."

"Then I guess I'm apart of your little defense group. What are you doing next?" she asked.

"We are moving all of those that are helping to the plains around Ponyville. We are retraining everypony to be ready for The Corruption when it decides to attack us."

"When do we leave for Ponyville?" she asked.

"We leave in the morning so get some rest."

J turned to Shining, "Inform the rest that we move tomorrow and that they be ready to move tomorrow."

Shining nodded and walked away with Cadance in tow.


	23. Chapter 20

The Royal Protector

Chapter 20

J quickly made his way to the throne room of the castle. Hopefully Celestia was there and knew of the whole incident. As J made his way into the throne room, he saw Celestia sitting on her throne holding a scroll with her magic. As J approached, Celestia turned her attention to away from the scroll and to J.

"Oh hello J, how are you doing this fine evening?" she asked looked at him.

"Not good Princess, have you heard of what happened?" he asked back.

Celestia looked at J with a confused look. "What do you mean? What has happened?"

"Shining Armor, his wife Cadance, and myself were having dinner when were attacked by the maids tending to us. They weren't maids, they were changelings."

Celestia looked in both horror and anger. "What, is everypony OK?"

J nodded, "Yes, the only one harmed was myself when one bit my arm. Right now, two are dead and the other three are captured. I assume that you would like them to be interrogated?"

Celestia thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes I would like them to be interrogated immediately and I would like you to do it. Use that illusion you cast on Shining and Twilight, it would be the best way to get information."

J bowed respectfully. "Of course Princess, I will do my best to get some information."

Celestia nodded and J dismissed himself to go interrogate the prisoners. J purposely left out the information that he learned before the changelings were taken by the guards. He decided that it would be better if the Princess didn't know about The Corruption wanted Cadance dead or the fact that they worked for The Corruption as well. J didn't need for the whole country to go into a panicked state over this incident. J left the throne room and asked the guard standing outside where the changelings were being held.

"Hey, were are prisoners usually held."

The guard saluted and looked at J. "Prisoners are held in the cells through the door to the right down the hall Sir J."

J smiled and thanked him. "No need for the formalities, we are all equals here."

J walked away from the guard and walked to where the guard told him to go. He opened the door and saw a set of stone stairs leading down. J slowly walked down the steps until he hit the bottom and saw a bunch of jail cells. He saw a guard and approached him.

"Guard, where are the changelings being held?"

The guard saluted and pointed to an iron door on the other side of the room. "They're being held in maximum custody. Knock and they'll let you in."

J thanked the guard and walked over the iron door and knocked. After a few seconds of waiting, a small metal slot opened up and a voice yelled through.

"Who are you?!" the guard yelled slightly.

J kept his composer and asked calmly. "I'm here for the changelings."

The guard, who's eyes started to look around the room nervously. "What are you talking about? We don't have changelings here."

J was about to protest but heard another voice behind the door.

"It's okay, he was with us when it happened." said the voice.

After a few moments of silence, the metal door opened revealing a guard and Shining Armor.

"Hello J, I was wondering when you when you would get here." said Shining. "We have each changeling in a separate room ready for interrogation."

Shining motioned J to follow and led him to a hallway with ten doors. Shining approached the first door and motioned J inside. Once inside, Shining shut the door and locked it behind them. In front of them was one of the changelings chained up to four giant iron blocks at each corner of the room. One its horn was an iron ring that J assumed blocked magic. The changeling seemed to be awake and was constantly pulling at the chains. J turned and looked at Shining.

"Shining." he began. "Celestia has asked me to use the illusion that I used in the Everfree during our first encounter. I would not think anything if you wanted to step out of the room during the interrogations."

Shining stood firm and shook his head.

"They attacked my wife with the intention to kill. I am going to see this interrogation through and find a way to make my wife safe."

J smiled, he was glad to see that Shining was getting over the forest incident. "Well in that case, you will be able to get a little revenge of your own. Anything the changeling hears will happen to him in his head."

Shining nodded quickly and stood to the side. J turned and slowly walked over to the changeling. When J got in front of the changeling, it froze and looked up at him. After a moment, the changeling started to squirm even greater, increasing its efforts to break out of its binds. Once it stopped squirming, J started to talk.

"I'm here for one reason, I want to know what your Dark Lord would have gained out of Princess Cadance's death. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way and you will be fine. The hard way, you'll be crying by the time I walk out of this door. With one is it?"

The changeling looked up at J with incredible hatred in its eyes. "I would rather die than tell you anything."

J half smiled and cast the illusion. He tilted his head to the side slightly and brought his hand to his chin.

"If you want that, I'll just pull your head off your body."

The changeling suddenly got the expression of fear in its eyes. It started to quiver and tried to back away from J.

"H..How are you doing this." The changeling said in a broken voice.

J laughed. "It's quite simple, tell me what I want to know and I'll stop."

The changeling growled fiercely and spit into J's face. "I will not tell you anything."

J wiped his face and looked at the changeling sternly. He decided that the only way he would get information is if he didn't hold back.

"You know." J said smiling slightly. "I think it would be easier torture you. We could pull out all of your teeth one by one and make your eat them. How about we break off your horn and slowly pull out your eyes with it or we could cut off a leg and you could watch as a hungry manticore eats it. Even better we could..."

"ALRIGHT I'LL TALK JUST STOP!" yelled the changeling.

J looked down at the changeling in victory. Seeing the fear and pain in his eyes made J feel sorry for how brutal he sounded but it was an interrogation.

"Alright, tell what you would have gained from Princess Cadance's death."

"Power." The changeling answered. "The Dark Lord promised our leader power to destroy Equestria if we were to kill Princess Cadance."

"Next question, what does The Dark Lord look like?"

"He looks kind of like you except he was covered in shadows." answered the changeling.

"Alright, what is The Dark Lord planning to do with you changelings?"

"He wants to..." is all the changeling got out before he started to shake. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor. J placed his hand on the changelings neck and waited. He had no pulse, he was dead. J sighed and approached Shining who was still standing in the corner staring at the dead changeling.

"Shining are you alright?" J asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just baffled at what just happened."

"The changeling was killed by some outside force. That was too convenient to be natural. Let's examine the next changeling before we interrogate."

Shining nodded and unlocked the door. J walked out and followed Shining to the next door. Shining repeated his previous actions and locked the door behind them. Inside was the second changeling chained up like the last one. Before starting the interrogation, J turned to Shining.

"Shining, you should interrogate this one. I will stand back and examine the changeling for anything irregular. If you need me to cast the illusion simply look at me and nod."

Shining looked at J and nodded. J then backed up and stood behind the changeling. He began to examine the changeling for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing looked out of the ordinary so he let Shining commence the interrogation.

"We''l make this simple." said Shining as he approached the changeling. "You'll tell me what I want to know and I'll walk out of here without harming you."

The changeling looked at Shining and laughed. "You don't scare me. You're nothing but food to me."

Shining clenched his teeth and looked at J and nodded. J, mentally laughing at how quick it took for Shining to become angry, cast the illusion on the changeling. J nodded back at Shining to let him know that the illusion was in effect.

"You know what we do to changelings now? We tie each of your limbs to our best fliers and have them fly in opposite directions."

J couldn't help but flinch at what Shining had just said. He had witnessed the same punishment several times while serving kings. It was as brutal as it sounded. The changeling however, looked as if someone had just told him that his entire family had been slaughtered. His reaction was similar to the first one.

"Wh...What are you?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"I'll be the end of you if you don't answer my questions." Shining said firmly.

"You..You wouldn't kill a valuable prisoner." The changeling said odiously thinking he had an advantage against Shining.

"There are other ways of getting information from you that are just as painful. See my friend back there? Have you ever seen anything like him?"

The changeling looked back and got a good look at J.

"He... He looks like The Dark Lord but with out the shadows."

"He's worse than your Dark Lord. You see, my friend here doesn't appreciate what you changelings did at my wedding. He also happens to be in charge of protecting Equestrian royalty and has been itching to get some payback for what your kind did."

Shining shot J a look saying something along the lines as play along. J sighed and focused his magic into his right hand and head. He released it and his hand was covered in a dark blueish aura in the shape of a claw. His eyes glowed a blood red and seemed to flow.

"**The only thing holding me back is the fact that Shining Armor is in here. If he wasn't, you and I would have a face-to-face discussion."**

The changeling looked at J in panic. He started to pull on his bindings to get away from him.

"Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know. Just tell your friend to back off."

Shining smiled and nodded at J. J lowered his magical disguise and slunk back to the corner to continue observing the changeling.

"Why do you want to kill Princess Cadance?" asked Shining.

"After the wedding, the changeling hive was slowly starving. We were barely surviving after we were pushed out of Canterlot. Our fair lady Chrysalis became disparate and started to except outside help from the Griffins. One day, a shadowy figure walked into the hive and promised our leader the power to care for her subjects if they followed his orders. Lady Chrysalis agreed and the figure was known as The Dark Lord from then on out. He told us that If we helped him..."

The changeling stopped and slumped the floor like the last one did. J jumped into action and searched the changeling for any outside magics. His search turned up results but it was too late for the changeling. He approached the dead body and looked it over. As J searched the mid-section, he saw a strange symbol in-between the wings. He parted the wings and got a better look at the symbol. It was a rune circle that was comprised of many different types of languages. From what J could make out, it read "Thou shall keep their tongue still or death will be painful."

J stood up and walked over to Shining. "They are branded with a rune circle that kill them if they try to reveal anything important. I should be able to remove it from the last one before we start the interrogation."

"Good, what that changeling said about the Griffins helping the hive is very unsettling." said Shining as he unlocked the door.

"It seems that The Corruption is amassing follower to stop us from achieving our goals."

Shining nodded. "Let's just hope that this last changeling will give us some interesting information."

J simply nodded back as they both walked through the final door. As they entered, J quickly approached the changeling. He placed his hand in-between the changeling's wings and started to focus on the rune. He was surprised to see the changeling was completely calm and not thrashing around like the others. J focused his magic and slowly broke the rune circle by over flowing it with his own magic. Once J was done, he removed his hand to see the rune circle had been replaced with a white rune circle. J instantly recognized it as a rune circle he used for binding rituals. Since J flooded the original rune with his magic, it must have absorbed his magic to replace the missing magic. J took a step back and looked at the changeling. He remained completely calm through the whole thing.

"Why do you not recoil in fear like the others?" asked J as he crouched to get face to face with the changeling.

The changeling looked up at him and smiled. "Two things, one, you wouldn't hurt me when you haven't received any information. Two, since you spared my life when it could have been so easily taken, I am willing to cooperate."

The statement shocked J, this changeling was willing to cooperate because he saved its life? It almost seemed to good to be true, the others had to be scared into giving information which later cost them their lives. Why was this one different?

"What did you do to me before you started talking?" asked the changeling as he tried to turn his head to look in between his wings.

"There was a rune that was placed on your back that would have killed you if you tried to give away important information." J said calmly.

The changeling chuckled slightly. "I guess that makes it twice you spared my life, I'm grateful."

"Before we begin, I have a question." started J. "Besides the obvious, what's with the sudden change of heart? An hour ago you tried to kill me."

The changeling didn't even hesitate. "Well, when you spared me in the dinning room, it made me think. I soon realized that what Lady Chrysalis wanted from us was basically a suicide mission. We changelings do not lack common sense or logical thinking. It is easier to cooperate with you because I'm in no situation to make threats or disrespect you like my comrades probably did. Seeing that you removed the thing that was going to kill me if I talked, it will be easier to cooperate with you. So I will answer any question you ask."

J smirked slightly while looking to Shining and then back to the changeling. "You are very wise for being in the situation your in right now. Anyway onto the questions. Tell me about the Griffins, why were they helping the changelings?"

"After we were thrown out of Canterlot and back into the badlands, the hive began to slowly starve. Lady Chrysalis became disparate and began to feed on anything. Seeing the changeling hive in near anarchy, the Griffin Kingdom offered to feed us in exchange for our help when it was needed. Lady Chrysalis foolishly accepted and the Griffins began to send their unwanted prisoners to be used as food stores. A month later, the Griffins cut all contacts with us and never answered to use again. We had assumed that they heard of the wedding incident and feared it happening to them. Starving once more, the changeling hive went back into a panic. However, one day a tall figure that was covered in shadows walked into the hive and offered Lady Chrysalis a deal. If we were to be loyal to it, we would not starve. Again Lady Chrysalis foolishly accepted and dubbed him The Dark Lord. He quickly said that he would give Lady Chrysalis power if we were to kill Princess Cadance. The Dark Lord would not tell us why he wanted her dead or what it would accomplish. We accepted and Lady Chrysalis selected us to go. I didn't even know about the thing on my back. I guess they placed there the night before ewe left and integrated into the castle maid services."

"That was more than was expected. You were telling the truth." said J happily.

"I told you, I would cooperate and that's just what I'm doing."

"Next question, what does The Dark Lord want with you changelings?"

"I don't know for sure but the word around the hive was that he proposed the same thing the Griffins proposed. We serve him until he needs us. I would speculate that he is trying to build an army for something because he has the hive's warrior production up by 200%."

J bit his lip in anger, The Corruption was preparing an army. This means he was going to attack. J would have to order the move after he left the cell so they would be ready in time. That only left one question on J's mind, what would happen to the changeling? Was he going to be thrown in some cell to rot away or would he be executed? J bit his lip again, he was conflicted on what he should do. An idea popped into his head, one that would work, maybe.

J got level with the changeling once more. "What would you do if we let you go?"

Both the changeling and Shining looked at J in disbelief. Shining seemed to look at him angrily while the changeling stared in shock.

"Well..." he answered. "I know one thing's for certain, I wouldn't go back to the hive. So to answer your question I don't know what I'd do."

J paused slightly. "If you don't know then allow me to place an idea in your head. Come with me, The Dark Lord you speak of is actually known as The Corruption and his goal is the destruction of Equestria. I have gathered together some of the best to combat The Corruption. I would be honored if somepony as wise as yourself were to join."

Shining quickly approached J. "J, are you sure about this decision. What would we tell the Princess, you just let go a changeling that tried to kill her niece."

"I know you hold a grudge against changelings for what they did Shining but having this one join would help incredibly considering how smart he is. Regarding Celestia, we tell her that it was a splinter group of changelings that acted on their own accord. Two committed suicide before revealing anything. The last one was willing to cooperate and told us everything. Because of the changelings cooperation, I decided to let him free while being under constant supervision by myself."

Shining stood still for a moment but then nodded. "I'll inform Princess Celestia immediately."

As Shining was unlocking the door, J called out for him. "Shining, while you're out, pass the word, we are moving out tomorrow. I'll brief you tomorrow about where to set up camp."

Shining nodded once more and left the room closing the door behind him. J watched as he left and turned back to the changeling. "So, what do you say.?"

The changeling looked at J and bowed his head. "I would love to join you on your quest to destroy The Dark Lord."

J smiled, "Excellent choice, lets get you out of those chains."

J straightened his hand and focused his magic. A white aura formed around his hand. He sliced at each chain of his leg, cutting the chains cleanly off of the changelings legs. Once the changeling was free, J focused on the ring on his horn. He stopped himself and decided that he would leave it to make it believe that he was under control. J pulled the changeling to his feet.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

The changeling shook his head. "We are not given names in the hive, we are identified by smell."

J frowned, "You at least need a name. Would you like one?"

"That would be a great idea, I would enjoy to have something that is actually my own."

J thought for a moment but couldn't think of a good name for the changeling.

"How about Gear?" the changeling purposed.

J thought for a moment. "Why do you purpose this name?"

"Well, gears have to fit and work together in perfect harmony in order to work properly inside machines like trains. I always thought of the changeling hive as one giant machine. Thus, all the changelings were required to be gears, to help the machine work day to day. So I consider myself a gear, helping your machine run everyday."

J chuckled slightly. "That was well thought out." J patted the changeling on the back. "Welcome to the group Gear."

The only expression on Gear's face was happiness.

It was the dead of night in the King's court. Court had finished an hour ago and the Griffin King remained one his throne. Today had been rough, along with his duty as King, he had to hold a court every night for the problems in his kingdom. It was something he learned from the Alicorn sisters of Equestria so the king decided to test it out. However, something was strange, there was not a single guard in the throne room with the king. The throne room was desolate except for the King but even he didn't see the uninvited guest that was in his company.

* * *

In the shadows of the room stood a tall figure.

"**With both the Griffins and Changelings under my rule, I will be unstoppable. Maybe these Griffins can even succeed in a mission I give them.**" said the figure.

The figure swayed slightly before bolting to the nearest shadow. He bolted shadow to shadow until he was at the throne of the Griffin King.

"**I will be victorious not matter what.**" the figure said before lunging at the Griffin King.

* * *

**Whew, Chapter 20 is complete and ready for reading. Enjoy.**

**Alright, it's voting time again everypony. It's time for another bonus chapter. The two options this time are**

**1). A background story on the mysterious assassin Connor**

**or**

**2). What Isabel has been doing since J went to Canterlot without telling her.**

**Poll is up on my profile and will be up until next Thursday. The poll will finish next Thursday so be sure to vote!**

**See everypony next Thursday. **


	24. Chapter 21

The Royal Protector

Chapter 21

J and Gear walked out of the room and back into the hallway. As they exited, they were surrounded by multiple guards. Some had spears, the unicorns had their horns pointed towards them. J knew what they were aiming at, they were aiming at Gear. J quickly stepped in front of Gear and waved the guards off.

"Lower your weapons." J said. "I have the changeling under control."

The guards looked to one another, slightly talking. Slowly, they lowered their weapons and stood aside. J slowly walked past the guards with Gear in tow and went straight for the main doors of the castle. Just as they reached the doors, J heard somepony call out to him. He turned to see Shining Armor running towards him.

"J, Princess Celestia wants to speak to you." Shining said quickly.

J sighed, "Dammit, I actually thought I'd be able to get out of here without having to address Celestia."

"She doesn't seem to happy about you releasing a changeling." Shining said worryingly.

"Let's just talk to her and get moving, we can't waste daylight."

Shining nodded and led J and Gear into the throne room. As they entered they were greeted with the face of a furious princess. Immediately, all three dropped into a deep bow, which was surprising considering that Celestia wasn't Gear's Princess.

"Rise now." Celestia said furiously. "I want you to explain to me why you would release a changeling of all creature and allow it to roam free?"

J rose quickly and began to explain. "You see, the first two changelings were uncooperative and when they tried to give information, they were killed by a spell placed on them. Before we interrogated Gear, I removed the spell so we could get more information."

"Why does it have a name?!" yelled Celestia.

J was getting irritated, he wouldn't get anywhere with Celestia due to her hatred of the changeling race. J was about to speak but was cut off, by Gear himself.

"Princess Celestia, I know it is not my place to talk back whatsoever but I can not stand for the hatred you are showing. I know that you hate the changelings for what they did at the wedding but they had no choice. We were starving, Lady Chrysalis was doing what was best for the hive. When the plan failed, the hive was plunged into anarchy. Many died due to malnourishment the following month and probably more are dying as we speak." Gear took a paused and breathed in sharply.

"J spared my life twice, once in the dinning room, and once when he removed the spell from my body. So I cooperated, I told him everything he wanted to know. He then asked if I were free what I would do. At first I said I didn't know but when he freed me, I knew what I was going to do." Gear looked into Celestia's and smiled.

"I would follow him to the ends of the world. I would watch his back and protect him. I knew that I had made a friend, something that I never really had. I will always treasure my friendship with him and look at him both respectfully and thankfully. I don't care what you think of the changelings, I could care less. Every single changeling in the hive is being manipulated by Lady Chrysalis to think that you're the real enemy when in fact, the real enemy is ourselves. So make your judgement Princess, burn a permanent mental note into your head. I don't care what you think or what you say, I trust J more then I ever trusted the hive and I would fight for him any day."

The princess was stunned at the changelings words, even J was stunned. J had to admit, Gear had guts. He was willing to stand up for himself in front of Celestia of all ponies. J stood back and readied himself in case Celestia decided to get angry and express her anger by tossing a small black, insect-like pony into a stone wall. This action never came, the Princess remained still, looking at the changeling in awe. She closed her mouth and looked down in defeat. When she looked back up, she completely ignored the changeling and addressed J.

"I understand that Shining Armor and Blackout wish to hold a training camp out near Ponyville. They asked for you to come along to provide assistance. I approved everything and the train leaves in the morning. You three are dismissed."

The three gave another bow before leaving the throne room quickly.

"That went way better than I thought." said Shining.

"I think it was Gear's outburst that saved our asses." said J chuckling.

"I honestly thought the Princess was going to have changeling for dinner." Said Shining laughing.

Once the laughter died down, J looked at the moon. "It's getting late, we need to head back to the barracks. I want to introduce Gear to the others before we leave. Shining, could you please go ahead and inform Order, Connor, and Blackout to meet in the entrance of the building."

Shining nodded quickly and started to gallop towards the barracks leaving J and Gear behind.

"Who are these others you speak of?" asked Gear.

"They are the ones that are helping fight The Corruption. Blackout is the captain of the Lunar Knights. Order is the original ruler of Equestria before it was called that. Connor is a human like me except he is like you as well. He is an assassin that can shapeshift to meet his needs."

"Is that everypony helping you?" asked Gear.

"No, we have several squads of Lunar Knights, several Royal Guards, about twenty recruits and three teachers. We are going to pick up more while in Ponyville as well."

Gear nodded in understatement, "You're ability to lead ponies is a force to be reckoned with J."

J chuckled, "I guess you're right." He looked up at the building in front of him. "You're going to meet the ones I talked about so don't be nervous, you'll be surrounded by friends."

Gear nodded and followed J into the building. Upon entering, was greeted by Order, Connor, and Blackout.

"What's this all about?" asked Blackout in a sleepy voice. "It's kinda late."

"If J wanted us all here than it must be important Blackout." Order said looking at the tired stallion.

"Order is correct, it is very important so listen up. About three hours ago, Shining, Princess Cadance, and myself were attacked in the dinning room."

Everypony in the room seemed to freeze and listen to J's words carefully.

"It turns out that one of the maid groups were changelings. They were stopped and taken to the cells to be interrogated. We barely got any information from the first two due to a rune placed on their bodies that would kill them if they talked. However, on the three changeling, I disabled the rune and thus I was able to interrogate him. Long story short, he cooperated and basically told me that The Corruption had taken control of the changeling hive."

Everypony paled, except for Connor, who J honestly thought was lost at the moment.

"I do not like to be the messenger of bad news so I bring good news as well. One, I managed to convince Princess Cadance to join us."

There was a cheer among the ponies in front of him. J waited for them to quite down before he continued.

"Secondly, I would like to introduce you to another new member, his name is Gear. I think that he will be a great addition."

At that moment, J took a step to his right and revealed the changeling behind him. The next few moments were quiet, so quiet that one could hear their heart beat.

"You're kidding right?" asked Blackout. "You set one of the changelings free."

J sighed, slowly dragging a hand across his face.

"Alright, I'm going to say this once so remember it. In between Gear's wings was where the spell placed on him was visible. To counteract the spell, I overflowed the visible appearance with my own magic resulting in one of my more advanced binding runes to appear on Gear's back. Because of this..."

"Gear is bound to J and will loyally follow him." Order said interrupting J only to finish his sentence for him.

"Yes, that is correct. Gear is very wise and will be a great addition. He will depart with us tomorrow in the morning. So go get some sleep, all of you. In the morning, I will meet you all at the train station. Until then, goodnight."

Everypony gave a respectable goodnight and went their separate way leaving only J and Gear in the room.

"That went better then what I thought was going to happen." said Gear in a surprised voice.

"Don't worry, you'll grown on them." J said. "Anyway, we should get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow."

Gear simply nodded and watched as J walked to the door that led to the barracks. He opened it and motioned Gear through. They both traveled the long hallway and stopped at a door close to the end of the hallway. J opened it to reveal a simple room with several beds.

"This is a spare room that nopony is currently using. Make yourself at home and get some sleep. I will be in the officers room at the end of the hall if you need me."

Gear nodded and thanked J. J closed the door and walked over to the officers room. Upon entering, the only ponies in there were Shining and Blackout who were both already asleep. J walked across the room and unhooked his weapons. He left his clothes on so he would be ready to go in the morning. He laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

* * *

J's eyes snapped open, another dreamless night, he had be get a lot of those lately. Rubbing his eyes, J set up in his bed to see Shining and Blackout get into their armor. J got up and set on the edge of his bed.

"Looks like cupcake is finally up." Blackout said jokingly.

J stretched and gave Blackout a stern look. "Save your little nicknames for when we're in Ponyville. I'm sure some of the graduates would love your little pet names for everypony."

Blackout rolled his eyes. He and Shining, both in their captain armor, walked out of the door, probably to round up everypony else. J took his time get his weapons back on and he walked out of the room and into Gear's room. When he entered, Gear was already up and appeared to be looking out of the window in the room. He looked back and smiled at J.

"Good morning J, did you sleep well?"

"Very well, did you sleep well?" J asked back.

Gear nodded, "Yes, once I woke up this morning, I realized that this is the first official day that I am free of the changeling hive."

J smiled, "I'm glad, come on, we are meeting everypony else at the train station."

Gear nodded and followed J out of the room and to the end of the hall. They exited the barracks and walked out to the main gate of the castle. As they walked into Canterlot, it was surprisingly empty today. There were no nobles walking around in their awkward postures. It seemed almost too peaceful but J didn't mind, it would make this move a whole lot easier without the inhabitants walking around. Once J and Gear arrived at the train station, they saw that all those who were going were loading up on the train. J looked to the side and saw the others, right where he told them to meet him.

"Is everypony ready to move out?" J asked as he walked up to the group.

"Yes, all the soldiers and equipment necessary for the camp have already been loaded onto the train. We are waiting on your word J." Shining Armor said with authority.

J look at Shining all the way down to Order. They were ready and so was he.

"Let's move out."

* * *

"Lady Chrysalis, the Griffin king demands an audience with you." A flustered Changeling said as he approached his Queen.

From her throne, Chrysalis nodded and watched as the doors to her throne room opened up. In walked a hulking creature, he was easily bigger then the annoying elder sister Celestia. As he approached the throne Chrysalis yelled in outrage.

"How dare you show your face around here! You left us to starve, to wither away in the dirt. Tell me why I should even answer any of your questions?"

"**I was so silly to think you would even recognize me Chrysalis."**

At the moment of hearing the kings voice, Chrysalis bowed deeply. "I am sorry my lord, I did not know it was you."

"**There will be time for apologies later, as of now, I have important information, information that I should have shared with you a while ago."**

"What would that be my lord." Chrysalis said after standing up.

"**He has been a thorn in my side since I started with my plans." **

There was a flicker of light and a bright figure emerged. It was tall and wore a long brown cloak. On it's back and hip appeared to be a sword and two daggers.

"**This creatures name is J. Pay attention Chrysalis, you will be meeting him soon."**

* * *

**Here's Chapter 21 for everypony, enjoy**

**Alright, the poll is getting every close. As of now, the option about Connor has the lead by 2 votes. The poll goes down tomorrow afternoon so go vote on the new bonus chapter option.**

**See everypony next Thursday. **


	25. Chapter 22 (Bonus Chapter 2)

**A/N: Most of this chapter is Isabel telling J about her past few days. Just so you're not confused.**

* * *

The Royal Protector

Chapter 22 (Bonus Chapter 2)

The train ride was shorter then expected considering that it was filled with soldiers and enough equipment to set up a small base. Once they stopped in Ponyville, J hopped out, along with Gear, and started to direct everypony on what to do.

"Just a little north of Ponyville is a small clearing were we are going to set up. Everypony will follow Captain Shining Armor and Captain Blackout and set up. I want the camp set up by nightfall."

"Yes sir." said all the ponies in response.

Shortly afterward, both Shining and Blackout began to herd the soldier to the field. J looked around for Connor and Order but saw that they were going with the others, leaving J and Gear alone. Since J had until nightfall, he decided that he would show Gear his house. So they began to walk on the dirt road that led to his house. Along the way, J decided to tell Gear about Isabel.

"So let me get this straight." said Gear. "Your student was brought into Equestria with you and she was changed into an Alicorn and you don't know why."

Well, I speculated that the magic that was already in her body morphed to meet the needs of this world." J said.

"That is a solid analysis but if she was morphed because of her magic, then why aren't you the same. I can feel that you have massive amounts of magic in you. Why did you change as well?" Gear asked.

"I really don't know." J said. "I put some thought into it but I never really thought about it."

Gear shrugged, "No matter what, I can't wait to meet another Alicorn. On better terms then last time."

"Knowing Isabel, she's probably at the house sleeping or out in the town messing with some pony. I hope we'll be able to find her before nightfall." said J.

After finishing that sentence, J heard a pair of wings beating. He looked up and saw Isabel dive bombing at him. Expecting the worst, J grabbed Gear and moved out of the way as Isabel landed.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Isabel yelled in an amplified voice.

"First off, lower your voice, secondly, why are you yelling?" asked J as he removed his hands from his ears.

"I can't believe you would leave without telling me where you were going. You have no idea what I've been through these last couple of days."

"Isabel, you're in Ponyville, the smallest, quietest town in Equestria. What could have possibly happened?" J asked.

Isabel got right up in J's face and started to whisper. "These ponies are crazy. They have driven me to the edge of my sanity."

"Isabel." J began. "How could the peaceful ponies of this town drive you over the edge."

Isabel looked at J sternly. "Just let me tell you a little about my week and then you'll understand why I am so close to losing it."

* * *

Alright, I remember when you brought home that other guy, I don't really remember him. That morning when I woke up, you were nowhere in the house so I decided to take a look through town. Again, you were nowhere to be found so I started to panic. So I went to Twilight's to see if she knew where you were.

"Hi Isabel." Twilight called from the book she was reading. "Did you have a good morning?"

"No, I can't find J anywhere. He was at home last night and wasn't there this morning so I looked around town. He wasn't around town either so I started to panic and I came here to see if you knew where he was."

Twilight laughed quite loudly, "Isabel, he's probably out doing a job for Princess Celestia or saving another village from destruction with my brother."

I could feel the corner of my eye twitch, "Twilight, you don't understand. He want somewhere without telling me where he was going. He could be hurt or he could have run into another one of those shadow unicorn things that nearly killed him."

Twilight hopped out of the chair she was reading in and gently set down her book. "Isabel, you're acting very stressed, you should calm down and relax."

Twilight put her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. Suddenly she let out an excited yelp and dashed over to a bookshelf that was near her. She pulled a huge book out with her magic and showed it to me. The title read "Slumber 101" in big gold letters.

"We could have a slumber party and this book will tell us how to do it. I've already used it several times and they were the best slumber parties that I ever had." Twilight said while sporting an ear-to-ear smile.

Part of me wanted to squeal at the mere mention of a slumber party. The other half wanted to just walk out the library door and puke in the bushes. However, I controlled my enthusiasm and tried to tell Twilight that I didn't want to have a sleepover. All I wanted to do was find you.

"Twilight, I don't think that this sleepover is such a great idea."

"Nonsense." Twilight told me as she called for her assistant. "Spike, I need you to send an invitation to all of the girls and tell them Isabel's going to be there too."

Twilight looked back at me with a toothy grin.

"It'll be so much fun, I promise."

* * *

Making me go to a slumber party was bad enough but Twilight insisted that I stay until everypony arrived. It was 7:00 in the morning and they weren't arriving till later that night. I had to spend my whole day with Twilight and everytime I tried to leave, I swear she pulled some kind of voodoo bullshit and made me feel guilty about wanting to leave so I stayed. Eventually, night fell and everypony arrived. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy all walked in at the same time carrying pillows and sheets. Everypony got settled in and Twilight began to talk.

"Ok, we are going to follow the book 100% this time. The first thing is makeovers!"

Rarity let out an excited squeal like Twilight had earlier that day. Applejack and myself looked at Twilight sternly. Twilight looked in between Applejack and myself and let loose a nervous laugh.

"Ok, I guess we can skip the makeovers."

Rarity's smile turned into a frown as Twilight started to flip through the pages of her book. Through out the whole night, I had to sit through all of the dumb shit they did. Eventually they started to play a game they called Truth or Dare. The game interested me so I decided to join in.

"Alright Dash, Truth or Dare." Applejack said.

"Hmmmm, dare, I'm not afraid of a little dare." said Rainbow Dash proudly.

"Alright, ah dare yah to work for one full day at meh farm."

Rainbow Dash looked stunned, she tried to protest but eventually gave in.

"Fine."

Rainbow Dash looked around the room and her eyes landed on me, of all ponies, me.

"Isabel, Truth or Dare." Rainbow Dash said with a sly smile on her face.

"Truth." I said instantly.

"Tell us about this duchess J keep talking to you about." Rainbow Dash said while snickering.

That's was it, I was ready for you to turn back up so I could kick your ass into next week. I realized that I had to follow the rules so I answered her.

"Back in our world, J and I came upon a duchess who was a wannabe witch. Apparently, see thought that I was very good looking and cast an illusion over me so that I would fall in love with her. Luckily J was able to break the illusion and get me out of there before I married that dreadful woman."

I looked over to Rainbow Dash. "Does that answer your truth?"

She nodded and I continued since it was my turn.

"Alright Rainbow Dash, it's your turn. Truth or Dare?" I asked.

"Truth." she said with a smile.

"Is it true that you have a crush on J."

Bingo, I had hit the mark I was searching for. Rainbow Dash's face instantly went red.

"Uhhhhh, maybe a little." she said quickly. "My turn, Truth or Dare, Isabel."

"Truth." I said.

"Is it true that you like J too?" she said smiling.

"No." I started. "My relationship with J is student and teacher. Much like Princess Celestia and Twilight. Your turn again Dash, Truth or Dare?"

"Uhhh, ummmm, truth." Dash said slowly.

"Why do you like J?" I asked.

"Well, he kinda fixed Scootaloo's wings and I've been looking out for her for a while now. I thought he was a really nice for doing that and I guess I kinda like him." Dash said in a Fluttershyish tone.

She cleared her throat. "Truth or Dare Isabel?"

"Truth." I said.

"Who's your special somepony?" she asked.

"Nopony right now. I don't find the stallions attractive because I'm still a human by nature. I doubt I ever will like anypony. Truth or Dare Dash?"

"I'm not falling for this again. I'll do a dare." Said Dash smiling as if she had just won some game.

"Alright, the next time you see J, I dare you to give him a big kiss and announce your love for him."

Just then, I had successfully broken Rainbow Dash. Her eye started to twitch and she buried her face in the pillow she was sitting on.

"Alright, Isabel won!" yelled Pinkie Pie who had gathered everypony to watch the comedy before them.

The rest of the night consisted of Rainbow Dash's face being buried in that pillow due to the embarrassment of my dare. Every time she lifted her head, all I would have to do I look at her and it would go right back down. Finally, we went to sleep and woke up in the morning. Rainbow Dash had slept on the far side of the room with her face buried in her pillow. Anyways, I was just about to leave when Rarity, of all ponies, stopped me before I walked out.

"Oh Isabel, would you mind helping me with something."

I just wanted to say "Hell no" and walk away but I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Sure Rarity, what do you need?" I said with a forced smile on my face.

"Well, since you're an Alicorn, you fit the same body shape as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I was wondering if I could get you to model for a dress or two. I've always wanted to make a dress for the Princesses but I never had anypony to model the dress after. I would be very grateful if you helped."

Forcing another smile onto my face, I said "Yes Rarity, I'll help you."

"Excellent!" she yelled. She grabbed my hoof and rushed mt over to her ridiculous house and pushed me inside. I had only took two steps in and cloth was already around me. I watched as Rarity started to take measurements and write them down on a piece of paper. Suddenly, all of the cloth around me fell to the floor. I looked over t Rarity to she way she stopped only to find her staring at me.

"Ummm, Rarity, are you ok?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just didn't realize how excellent your figure is. It has me captivated." she said as she started to get closer and closer to me. She then suddenly reached out and drug her hoof across her back.

"Such posture is incredible, it puts the Princesses to shame."

"Rarity." I called to her trying to get her attention.

She didn't listen, Instead, she slid her hoof down to my lower back.

"The color of your mane and coat certainly compliment your lady like figure."

"Rarity!" I called out again but to no luck, she was completely hypnotized by me.

She slid her hoof down to my cutie mark started to make circles with her hooves.

I blinked once and widened my eyes.

"GET YOUR HOOVES OFF OF ME YOU EVIL DUCHESS!" I yelled as I pushed Rarity away with my magic.

As quick as I could, I bolted out of the door, only to do stopped by Rarity who has latched herself onto my back legs.

"Don't leave me!" She yelled.

"I WILL NOT FALL FOR YOUR TRICKS AGAIN DUCHESS. I'VE LEARNED FROM THAT LAST EXPERIENCE!"

With all of my might, I flung Rarity off and bolted outside. Once outside, I flew off and went back to the house. I locked myself in and spent the rest of the days searching for you.

* * *

Isabel looked at J and spoke softly but with venom.

"Now you know."

J looked at Isabel for a moment before replying.

"Out of all the people I knew and all the ponies I know, you by far, are the most over reactive pony I will ever see, ever."

Isabel started to stutter with rage. Her face turned a bright red while her cheeks puffed up. J waved her off and started to walk away with Gear in tow.

"It's good to see you too Isabel. If you need me, I'll be in the clearing to the north of Ponyville."

Isabel stood in silence as she watched J and some weird black insect looking pony walk away. Once they were out of sight Isabel sighed.

"After all of that and I let him go."

Without doing anything, Isabel went straight back to the house and closed the door with a slam and the sound of many locks locking.

* * *

**As you can see, the choice about Isabel won the poll 25 to 23. **

**As I said at the beginning of the chapter, this is a story being told by Isabel to J. I hope this will decrease some of the confusion about the chapter.**

**Feel free to leave a comment or review. Tell me how you liked it, tel me what you didn't like about it. Tell me what you would like to see next in a bonus chapter.**

**See everypony next Thursday. **


	26. TRP Chapter 23

The Royal Protector

Chapter 23

It only took J and Gear a good five minutes to walk out to the clearing where the camp had been set up. Once they approached, they saw that the camp had been finished and the soldier were talking amongst one another. J had spotted Shining and Blackout amongst the crowd.

"Everything went quite well from the looks of it." J said looking around. The once empty clearing had been transformed into a sea of big tents and soldiers.

"Everypony was eager to set up and get started." Shining said with a proud smile.

"Well that and we promised some extra leave to the group hat could set their tent up the quickest." said Blackout.

J raised an eyebrow, "Who won?"

"It was tent seven, mostly comprised of rookies that had graduated already. They set up in one minute flat. Something I doubt even Twilight's friend Rainbow Dash could do." Said Shining.

"What about meals for the troops, is all of that taken care of?" asked J

Shining nodded, "The troops have a choice of eating in Ponyville or eating the food we prepare here."

"Good." Said J as he turned to address the troops behind him.

"Listen up, I have several announcements to make." J yelled.

All the troops stopped talking and gave him their full attention.

"We are going to be here for two weeks. In that period of time, I want everypony to push themselves. I want everypony to leave here better, stronger, and faster then when they arrived. We also might have some more ponies join us later in the week so I want all of you to welcome them. Now about food, you have a choice of going into Ponyville for your meals or eating the food provided here. If you don't feel like wasting your bits, just eat here. On a lighter note, I was told that tent seven had won the little contest you had for setting up and you will be allowed a couple extra hours of leave."

J could hear some of the troops in the crowd cheering that they had won. He waited it to quiet down before continuing.

"That's all for now. I want everypony back in this spot by 9:00 tomorrow morning, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" yelled everypony in the crowd.

"Good, all of you get some rest, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." said J as he dismissed the soldier and watched as they walked to their tents. Once they were all gone, J turned to Shining.

"Where will we be staying?" he asked.

"Follow us, we stay in the officers tent in the middle of the camp. I think everypony is already in there." said Shining and Blackout to a huge tent in the middle of the camp.

Once inside, J saw Order and Connor in the corner playing chess, Connor looked like he was losing and quite frustrated. Gear, who J had lost track of when he met up with Shining, was sitting to the side studying the game intensely. Cadance was sitting on one of the cots reading a large book. They all eventually noticed J, Shining, and Blackout and greeted them. Shining went over to Cadance and Blackout literally laid down on his cot and went to sleep. J walked over to the chess game that was currently happening.

Connor was getting beaten terribly. Order was apparently so good that he wiped out most of Connor's pieces with nothing but his pawns.

"This game is bullshit." Connor exclaimed moving his only remaining piece, his king, away from the advancing army of pawns. "How are you using nothing but your pawns?"

"It's quite simple Connor, it's a combination of strategy and being able to predict the enemies moves." said Order calmly as he moved his pawns slowly, one-by-one, until he trapped Connor's king in the corner. "Checkmate." he called while knocking his king over with his magic.

"This is stupid, if it were me, I would have just entered the castle undetected and assassinate him in his sleep." Connor said while he crossed his arms.

"Strategy is key when going into battle." began Order. "Without it, you would fall as quickly as you entered."

Connor rolled his eyes, "You've told me that for the past three games. I'm starting to get tired so I'm getting some sleep."

Connor then walked over to one of the nearby cots and laid down, facing away from the chessboard. Order reset the board and watched as Gear jumped into the other seat. J looked at both of them.

"You two should get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow."

"No need." said Gear. "Changelings don't need to sleep as much as ponies. We only have to sleep once every couple days and seeing that I did that yesterday, I'll be fine."

J turned to Order and waited for his response.

"I've been stuck in that stone prison too long to just sleep my time away. Don't worry, I'll be fine as well."

J looked in between the two and nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you two in the morning." he said as he approached the cots ad laid down.

He shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Morning arrived quickly. J sat up on his cot and saw that Gear and Order were still playing chess.

"Are you two still play?" J asked as he approached.

"Yes, Gear is a very formidable opponent and an expert strategist. Out of the fifty games we have played, he has won 37 of them."

J chuckled lightly, "Well finish it up, I'm going to address all of you before we leave."

Gear and Order nodded and went back to their game. J turned and saw the others. Blackout was all curled up in his cot still sleeping. Shining, Cadance, and Connor must have already been up because there was a tray filled with fruits and pastries of all kinds.. In the corner of the tent was Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt still asleep as well. J went over to Blackout and pulled his off of his cot and onto the ground. He twisted and turned like he was being held down. He stood up and looked at J.

"I thought you agreed to stop that after I helped you with those manticore." he said looking a little irritated.

"I needed you up quickly, it was the only thing I could think of that was quick." J said.

Instead of arguing, Blackout just rolled his eyes and walked over to the tray, took some of the fruit and joined the others at the middle of the tent. Next was Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt. J stood over the three, who's cots were right next to each other. He kicked each cot and gave a firm "Wake up, it's time to start the day."

The three instructors got up slowly and trotted to the middle where everypony was already gathered. J approached them started to talk.

"Alright, now that everypony is up, I have several things to tell all of you. By now, the soldiers will be finishing breakfast and making their way back to the meeting point. Today, I will assign groups that you will be in charge of during our time here. All Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns will train with Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt to better their endurance and strength. I want you three to push them to their breaking points and I mean it. Make them do whatever you think will make them stronger."

The three instructors nodded and J looked towards Shining and Blackout.

"After that is done, Shining, I want you to take about five or six unicorns and teach them everything you know about barriers."

J had heard stories of the barrier that Shining managed to keep up during his own wedding. This made him the ultimate choice for training defense specialist

"Blackout, after the initial exercise, I want you to take the Pegasi and train them in air combat, both attacking ground targets and other air target."

Even though Blackout was seen as lazy, there is a reason he is the Lunar Knights captain. He is one of the best air fighters Celestia and Luna have other than the Wonderbolts, who are primarily for show. J watched as both Shining and Blackout nodded, understanding their task.

J then turned to the next two beside Shining and Blackout, Cadance and Order.

Order, Cadance, since you are both Alicorns, I want you to take the rest if the Unicorns and help them control their magic better. Also train them to learn any spells you think would be useful."

They both nodded and J moved on to Connor and Gear.

"Connor, I want you to take the Shadow Strikers and do as I told you, train them like the White Circle trained you."

Connor nodded and J looked down at Gear wondering what to do with him.'

"If you are having trouble coming up with a task for me, let me make a suggestion. Changeling are incredibly good infiltration experts but that's not the only thing we are good at. We are very good barrier breakers as well. I could take a small group of Pegasi or Unicorns and teach them the best ways to break barriers."

J thought for a moment and agreed with Gear. "Take six, three Pegasi and three Unicorns."

J finished addressing the other and started to wrap up.

"I will be doing a mix of things after the initial exercise. I will be helping with Order, Shining, or Cadance if my help is needed. Otherwise, I will be splitting my time between preparing Isabel and training The Reapers. Any questions before we continue with the day."

J looked around and saw that they had no questions or complaints.

"Alright, Lets get to the meeting point." J said as he started to lead the group away from the tent and to the meeting place. Blackout, Connor, Gear, Earth Turner, Sunspot, Furybolt, and Order went ahead to make sure that the soldiers were all ready. This left J, Shining, and Cadance slowly walking along the edge of the camp. They were closing in on the meeting point when J heard somepony shout his name.

"J!" he heard.

J looked around him to see who was calling for him but spotted nopony.

"J!" he heard again.

This time he looked up and saw a small dot headed right towards him. Instantly knowing who it was, J braced himself and waited for the dot to get closer. It got closer and closer until it had gotten close enough to see. Before anypony could see it, the small dot hit J directly in the chest send both the dot and J back 10 or so feet. The dust cleared reveling one extremely happy Scootaloo hugging his neck.

"J, you're back!" She shouted while smiling.

"Yes you're finally back." J heard in front of him.

He moved Scootaloo slightly and saw Twilight, her friends, and Isabel standing there.

"It feels good to be back." said J as he looked over the group.

As he scanned the group, J noticed that Rainbow Dash was blushing incredibly. Because of this, J remembered what Isabel had told he about the dare she gave Rainbow Dash. J made a mental note to watch Rainbow Dash and continued.

"Twiley, it's good to see you." said Shining as he hugged his sisters neck.

Cadance joined in, "Yes, it's been so long since we've last seen each other."

"I've missed you both too!" Twilight exclaimed as she hugged them back and let go. She looked over and stared at J sternly. "Why did you leave without telling us goodbye. You had Isabel worried sick."

J looked over at Isabel to see her reaction but she was still looking at Rainbow Dash with a huge grin on her face.

"Sorry for leaving so suddenly but I had some things that needed to be done in Canterlot. One of which you can see before you." J said as he looked back at Twilight.

"Yeah, I've wondered what all of this is about." asked Twilight.

"How did you find out about this?" J asked.

"I noticed the massive number of Royal Guards and Lunar Knights in Ponyville so I asked them what they were doing here. They told me they were here on a training exercise. I thought nothing of it until I received a letter from the Princess telling me that you were back in Ponyville. So I gathered the girls and Scootaloo."

J nodded and then something hit him, Twilight and her friends were right in front of him. J looked over to Shining who gave him a nod, exactly knowing what J was hinting towards.

"Scootaloo." began Shining. "Why don't you follow Cadnace around for a while. J and I need to talk to Twilight and her friends privately."

Scootaloo wanted to argue but eventually gave in and follow Cadance as they walked off. Once they were both gone, Twilight spoke up.

"What did you mean Shining? Why do you have to talk to use?"

Shining didn't answer, instead, he let J answer. J turned and pointed towards the officers tent that J had stayed in the night before.

"Twilight, you and your friend go wait for us in the officer's tent over there. We will be there shortly.

As J turned back around, his field of view was filled with a certain rainbow colored mare getting close to his face. On instinct, J reached up and closed Rainbow's mouth shut with his hand.

"Isabel told me all about your little game of truth and dare." J said in a whisper. He decided that he was going to tease her a bit to see what her reaction would be.

"To let you know, I like mares that stay true to their word. It's rather sexy if you ask me."

That's all J had to say and Rainbow's face turned a deeper shade of red. She pulled away from J's grasp and flew straight to the tent that J had pointed to. J gave a loud chuckle and motioned the other girls.

"You all go follow Rainbow Dash, we will be there shortly."

Twilight nodded and quickly led her friends, and Isabel, into the tent. Once out of sight, Shining looked up at J.

"J, are you sure it's a good idea to involve them in this mess as well. I mean, we're talking about my sister here." he said worryingly.

"No need to worry Shining, in no way do I plan on them fighting an actual battle. We need them because the Elements will help us in the long run. Plus, I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves."

"If you think so." Shining said as he stared at the tent.

There was a pause before Shining spoke up again.

"What are you going to tell them?"

J looked down at Shining and then back to the tent.

"Everything." he said.

Shining sighed lightly. "Alright, let's get this over with, we have soldiers waiting."

Without saying anything, J and Shining walked to the tent and slowly entered.

* * *

"**Are your troops ready.**" asked the corrupt griffin king as he stared at the changeling queen.

"Yes my lord, it will take us five days to get there. What are your orders for when we arrive?" asked Chrysalis.

"**J has a camp set up I the clearing north of Ponyville. You and your troops are to kill him.**"

Chrysalis bowed, "As you command my lord." She then turned to the changelings that had amassed behind her. She looked over the twenty changelings before her and gave one order. "Let's move."

Chrysalis and her changelings flew out of the hive and towards Ponyville. The corrupted Griffin King watched as Chrysalis and her troops flew away. He knew they wouldn't be able to kill J. The Corruption doubted he could do it. Chrysalis had out served her purpose and is being used to test J's power. The corrupted Griffin King turned slowly and walked deeper into the hive. Planning his next move against J. Time was working against both of them and J was gaining the upper hand, but not for long.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 23 for everypony, enjoy.**

**The story is about to pick up so expect a super awesome fight scene in the upcoming chapters.**

**Feel free to leave a comment or review. Tell me what you like or what you hated. Why not both?**

**See everypony next Thursday**


	27. Chapter 24

The Royal Protector

Chapter 24

As J and Shining entered the tent, they saw that Twilight and her friends had gathered in the corner of the tent. Upon further inspection, J found out that they were trying to coax Rainbow Dash, who wouldn't look J straight in the eyes, out from under the blanket she was using to hide herself.

"What did you say to her that caused her to act like this?" Asked Twilight. "I've never seen her act this way before."

"Isabel told me about her dare to Rainbow Dash so I decided to play along. I have to say, the results are quite satisfying." J quickly answered.

He walked over to one of the other cots and pulled it over so that it was parallel to the other one. J pulled his cloak off and put it at his side. There was a pause, J, with his scarred visage, looked over Twilight and her friend before speaking.

"First thing to say is that this you see, this camp, isn't what you think it is. You were told that it was a training camp, a basic training exercise for a handful of soldiers. This is wrong, this isn't a training camp, this is a war camp."

There was a collective gasp from Rarity and Fluttershy, which was expected. Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie looked startled, which unsettled J slightly. Rainbow Dash acted as if J wasn't there and stayed under her protective blanket only peeking out every so often. Applejack was the first to recover and thus, asked the first question.

"Wh...what do yah mean by that Sugercube." She said barely able to get the words out.

"It's exactly as it sound Applejack. We are here so I can prepare these troops for war." J said somberly.

"But that not the Princess said. Why would she lie to me? I'm her most faithful student. Why would she not tell me what's really going on?" asked Twilight as she shot out question after question.

J put his hand out as a signal for her to be quiet.

"That because Princess Celestia and Princess Luna think this is a simple joint training exercise between the Royal Guards and the Lunar Knights."

When J finished his sentence, everypony looked at him like he were crazy, even Rainbow Dash looked out from her blanket and stared at J.

"J, you work for the Princesses, why would you lie to them and do something behind their backs?" asked Twilight.

"It's a long story, that why I wanted to talk to all of you. I want to tell you everything." J said.

Twilight looked around at her friends and then back to J. "Alright, we'll listen."

J cleared his throat and began.

"Do you remember the first task that was assigned to me by Princess Celestia? Where I was tasked to investigate a magical disturbance in the Everfree."

Twilight nodded and J continued.

"During that assignment, I discovered three unicorns in the forest, each showing signs of possession. Mono toned speech, a soulless look in their eyes, and an easily detectable trace of external magic form the possessor. They saw me and instantly became hostile. As they attacked me, they spouted nonsense about serving their master and fulfilling his wishes. Two were easily taken down but the third one was the troubling one. After spouting more nonsense, I could feel an outside magic start to gather around the unicorn, creating a shadow-like armor that was near invincible. Applejack and Rainbow Dash was there when the unicorn threw me out of the woods and right to the outskirts of Ponyville."

At this point, Rainbow Dash had come out from underneath the blanket and was staring at J in disbelief.

"If Scootaloo hadn't have interfered the unicorns attack I would be here right now. I blackout and heard a voice but saw nopony. It congratulated me and told me that not many ponies survive fight against what I had fought. The voice identified itself as The Keeper and I woke up. Later it was revealed to me that The Keeper was the shepherd of soul, the grim reaper. The Keeper made sure that everyponies soul found its final resting place and that they were not tampered with."

Twilight continued to look on in awe allowing J to continue without interruption.

"Shortly after, I was informed by Princess Celestia that there was another magical disturbance had appeared in the frozen plains north of Stalliongrad. The Keeper confirmed the disturbance but told me the it was a weapon, a sword of great power. I had looked for the sword and eventually found it in an underground ruin. When I touched the sword, I received a vision. The vision was of two Alicorns battling. It was revealed that the two battling were King Order and Gaia."

Twilight snapped out of her awe-stricken gaze and questioned J. "Who is the King Order and Gaia. I've read most of the royal archives even the ones predating Nightmare Moons reign. Not once have I come across those names."

"And you won't because the fight I am talking about took place before Equestria was even under the rule of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

"What! You mean during the time during Discord's rule?" asked Twilight.

"Yes and no." answered J. "You see at the time, Order was a fair and just king that lead Old Equestria in to a golden age. One day, Order cut all contacts with foreign countries including the one that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were originally from. In response, Celestia's older sister, Gaia, traveled to Old Equestria to find out what had happened to Order. The findings were disturbing. Gaia had discovered that Order had been taken over by a malicious entity known as The Corruption. This caused Order to become a recluse, refusing help from outside countries. Gaia had to do something, s she confronted Order in his throne room and fought him. This only led to Gaia's death by Order's hands. At that moment, The Corruption morphed Order's being into something entirely different from his previous form. Once Order was transformed he took on the name Discord and plunged Old Equestria into chaos. Celestia and Luna then stopped him with the Elements of Harmony and sealed him in stone."

"How do you know this, where is your proof?" asked Twilight.

"I know this because of two things. One, The Keeper told me, two, the moment I touched the sword I received that vision, the vision of the fight. I asked The Keeper what it was about and I was told that it was the memory of the wielders last moments alive." Saying this, J pulled Light's Edge out of it's holster and held it before him.

"What, if it held the last memory of its wielder and Gaia died that day, that would mean..."

"Yes Twilight, I am in possession of Gaia's sword."

Twilight looked down at the blade. She brought up a hoof and ran it down the flat of the blade.

"Why are you telling us this?" Twilight said faintly.

J paused and thought how he would ask them. He slid Light's Edge back into its holster, gathered his words, and looked at Twilight.

"The Corruption's back and he's endangering Equestria again. As much as I want to keep everypony safe, I can't do it on my own. That's why I gathered so many ponies. I want to stop him at any cost."

J got up and started to pace, a habit that he had picked up while trying to deal with problems in Equestria.

"You have surely noticed Shining, Cadance, and a handful of Royal Guards and Lunar Knights. However, there are others that have gathered, those thought to be impossible to work with, those of great power and those of great fame."

J stopped pacing and turned back to Twilight.

"Other than Shining and Cadance, Blackout, the Lunar Knight's captain is here as well. Another human by the name of Connor that I found the night of my party is here as well."

J paused and than continued. He chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" asked Twilight.

"I just remember asking myself what I had gotten into a long time ago and I now realized that my question was answered."

Twilight looked at with a confused look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Order is here as well." J said quickly and calmly.

Twilight and her friends looked speechless except for Isabel, who just rolled her eyes.

"The last one is one that was completely unexpected, and by that I mean unexpected by everypony. Lastly, there is a changeling named Gear that is helping as well."

Twilight looked at J with wide eyes. "J, from what you say, you've done things that somepoines could only dream of. You got the Royal Guard and Lunar Knights to work together, that is unheard of. You have their captain, my brother, they trust you. Not even Princess Celestia or Princess Luna could get them to cooperate. You have two things from the time before Princess Celestia's rule, you have Gaia's sword and you have Order, which I still don't understand how you obtained him."

"Actually, I didn't find him, he was right under our noses the whole time. He was stuck in the Discord statue and I freed him. Thanks to you girls and your use of the Elements of Harmony against Discord, he was reverted back into his original form, Order."

Twilight smiled slightly, the look in her eyes told J that she felt accomplished for what she did. Twilight looked at J and continued her statement from before.

"Top it all off, you have a changeling, a non violent changeling here as well. J, you've accomplished so much since you got here that ponies have tried to do for years. I'm just amazed at your ability to bring this many ponies together under one cause."

Once Twilight finished, Applejack jumped in.

"J, yah never answered Twi's question from before. Why do yah need us? Why are yah tellin' us this?"

J answered Applejack's question with a saying.

"Four Alicorns and the Elements of Harmony with help but will not win the battle. Three are required to fight. One is wise and powerful, his sense of pride makes him great. One is a being of the shadows, his cunning and slyness makes him deadly. The last is a being of justness and order. To find him, you must look in the spot that most would not." J said repeating what The Keeper had told him.

"What was that about?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"That Keeper told me that. That was when I first found out about The Corruption, when I first realized that he was a threat to Equestria. The Keeper provide me a way to defeat The Corruption and that's what you see before you. Preparations to fight The Corruption. We had both Isabel and Cadance, that two Alicorns, we need Luna and Celestia."

"Why did that not join right away, you have quite a lot of proof to prove that Eqestria is in trouble?" Asked Twilight.

"Once I released Order, I believe that Celestia was blinded by rage. She completely forgot about what I had told her about The Corruption and turned her back to me. She refused to talk about it so I stopped bringing it up. However, I believe that if we approach her with everypony we have, we could convince her that The Corruption is a threat."

Twilight nodded and J continued.

"The three that I mentioned last are me, Connor, and Order. All that leaves are the Elements of Harmony."

"So your asking if we'll..." Said Twilight before she was cut of by J.

"Yes, I'm asking you to join me and help rid Equestria of The Corruption."

It looked like Twilight and her friends got hit by a ton of bricks. They're expressions told J everything. Twilight looked both concerned and interested. Applejack showed a look of concern along with indecisiveness. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy shared the same reaction, which was quite weird for Pinkie Pie. They both looked frightened and uncertain. Rarity had a distasteful look on her face, like she had eaten something that taste awful and couldn't get the taste out of her mouth. Out of all of those, the one that caught J attention was Rainbow Dash's reaction. Her reaction was fear, fear, for Rainbow Dash, the biggest daredevil J knew was afraid.

"I'm not asking you to fight for me but I am asking you to help. We need the Elements of Harmony and without them, we might not get very far."

Twilight and her friends were still silent, giving each other an occasional glance. After a few minutes, J looked over to Shining and Shining shook his head. He proceeded to pull his cloak back on and walk out of the tent with Shining. He stopped a couple feet away from the entrance and turned back towards Twilight. She and her friends still looked conflicted and it looked like Rainbow Dash had gone back under her blanket.

"I understand your uncertainty about what I had just asked you. I have no hard feelings against you if you wish not to help. That is your choice, not mine. I would like to wish all of you a good day."

J then looked over to Isabel and motioned her to follow.

"Come on Isabel, I need your help else where."

As J turned, there was a flash of rainbow and he brought up his hand to block the anticipated kiss from Rainbow Dash. However, that kiss didn't come, instead, Rainbow Dash was hovering in front of J preventing him from leaving.

"I'm in." is all she said to J.

"What?" said J slightly stunned.

"I said I want to help." she confirmed.

J gathered himself and continued. "Rainbow Dash, your bravery is admirable but wanting to help because I asked to will cause your bravery to fade into cowardice. You have to want to help, a decision you make on your own accord."

"This is my own decision J, I want to help. You have done so much for us since you got here. You even did something that was proven impossible, you fixed Scootaloo's wings. You healed her at the risk of your own pain. I still remember what you said before you went into the Everfree, it has stuck with me ever since. Are you willing to sacrifice a few things for those you care about."

She flew over to her friends and landed next to them.

"For me, that question is easy, yes, I would even give my life for my friends and loved ones."

She flew back over to J.

"So count me in."

J was speechless, Rainbow Dash had remembered that conversation he had with her about Scootaloo. He was impressed that it had made such an impact on her life. He smiled and looked at Rainbow Dash. Before he could answer, J was cut off by Twilight who joined Rainbow Dash.

"I'm helping too. I'm not going to sit back and watch as my brother and my friend risk their lives for the well-being of Equestria. I'm helping."

Unbelievably, after Twilight wanted to help, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and surprisingly Fluttershy all wanted to help.

J chuckled slightly, "You all have shocked me by your action but I am very impressed by you bravery and willingness to help but know this. If you want to help, you will be required to participate in all exercises and training afterward. Which includes the beginning exercise which is going to be a living hell for someponies."

"A little exercise never hurt anypony." commented Rainbow Dash.

"Alright then, we began today. Are you all ready?" J asked.

Twilight and her friends nodded and was lead out of the tent by J and Shining. They walked until they hit the middle of the camp which was covered in soldier. J and Shining led the others to a raised platform in front of the soldiers. Once there, J walked into the middle of the platform leaving the others to his side.

"Listen up!" J yelled in a raised voice. "These six mares have agreed to help our cause. I want each and every one of you to welcome them because they are going to be training with us."

Out of the crowd of troops, one of them yelled. "What can they do? They just slow us down."

This caused Rainbow Dash to fly up and hover above the troops.

"Alright, which one of you said that? I'll beat you into a pulp."

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything else, J pulled her back with his magic and planted her next to Applejack who proceeded to hold her still.

"That's the attitude I want to avoid so to make things fair, I'll say this. These six are the embodiments, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. Which means they've done more to save Equestria than you all have done in your whole military careers. They are a great assets and will help indefinitely, so I don't want to hear anymore talk like that. They are here to help and that's final."

"Now, lets get to business. Earth Turner, Sunspot, and Furybolt is going to give everypony a brief description of the next few days so listen closely."

J motioned the three instructors up and backed away.

"Alright, listen up because I am not repeating myself." began Earth Turner in his naturally deep voice. "J has asked us to train you worthless pieces of scam into tip top shape. Which means we have full reign over your trainin' routine. For the next four days, you will be pushed like you have never been pushed before. We are goin' to make you wish that you were never born. And before you ask, no, you can't skip out on this just because you aren't feelin' well or your head hurts or if your too tired. Everypony is participatin' in this exercise, even J has agreed to undergo what everypony is about to do for the next four days. So let's see, how about for starters, everypony take ten laps around Ponyville. Don't even think about slackin' off because we'll be watching. NOW GET GOIN'!"

* * *

The next four days was a living hell. Earth Turner had assigned the exercises while Sunspot and Furybolt kept the soldier in line by either hitting them from above or hitting them with a blast of non-lethal magic. Even J got hit several times though he just assumed that it was payback for their little scrimmage in the sparring area in Canterlot. Surprisingly, everypony seemed to pull there those rough four days. Twilight and her friends did exceptionally well considering it was possibly their first time in a situation like this. Out of the Elements, Pinkie Pie always did the best. Because of her hyper-active attitude, she was barely winded from her exercises and excitedly completed the next ones. The way she treated the exercises made Earth Turner incredibly angry and agitated, often causing him to increase the already huge exercise routine.

On the morning of the fifth day, J woke up and started his usual morning routine. He ate his breakfast, took a bath, and woke the others up, this included Twilight, her friends, and Isabel. Once everypony was up, they made their way to the middle of the camp for the morning meeting. Once they got there, they were greeted with the usual sight of the soldiers gathered around the raised platform. There was a big difference from the soldiers he saw four days ago from the soldiers that stood before him. Even Twilight and her friends were a bit more muscle-toned. J look over the crowd of troops and began to speak.

"Each and every one of you has worked hard for the past four day. I am proud to be in the presence of such hard working ponies. However, while the group exercise might be over, we still have a lot of ground to cover. So listen up."

J motioned Shining, Blackout, Order, Gear, Connor, and Cadance forward.

"For the rest of our time here, each and every one of you will be training under one of the officers you see before me. Shining Armor will be going around and picking six unicorns to train in the use of barriers. All Pegasi are to go with Blackout, Sunspot, Rainbow Dash to better control their flying speed, air-to-air and air-to-ground combat."

Rainbow Dash looked at J with wide eyes. He had not told Rainbow Dash about this and decided to surprise her with the news. She nodded excitedly and happily trotted over to Blackout who rolled his eyes at her girlish antics.

"All unicorns are to go with Order, Furybolt, and Princess Cadance to better yourself in magic and learn some new tricks as well. Shadow Strikers are going with Connor for stealth training. Gear is going to pick three Pegasi and three unicorns and teach them barrier breaking techniques. All Earth ponies are going with Earth Turner and Applejack for extended strength training."

Applejack looked over to J, gave him a smile, and nodded.

"Lastly, I will split my time between the unicorns, The Reapers, my student Isabel, and Twilight Sparkle. Unless you are picked by Shining Armor, Gear, or part of the Shadow Strikers and The Reapers, go to your assigned trainers and follow them to your designated training grounds."

The soldiers dispersed and J approached a stunned Twilight.

"Alright Twilight, we should get started, first session is going to be with you, Isabel, and The Reapers."

"Why are you teaching me." She said softly.

"I've heard stories about how powerful your magic is. You also showed your willingness to learn when you wanted to learn more about the magic of my world. I want to teach you all about it."

"I...I...I" Twilight stuttered as she tried to find the words she wanted to say.

"I see that I have stolen your words. No matter, let's not keep the others waiting shall we?"

Twilight nodded slowly and followed J as he walked over to The Reapers and Isabel.

"Alright." began J. "I choose to train you because I was reassured that you all were the best of the best. Either that or you're just my student who can't learn a damn thing."

Isabel growled lightly at J but slunk back to her sitting position she was originally in. J received simultaneous nods from the ponies that made up the Reapers. J looked down the line of ponies before and began to slowly nod.

"Alright, let's start with something easy shall we. Everypony take ten laps around Ponyville and meet back here."

* * *

For the next three days, J split his time between The Reapers, the unicorn group, Isabel, and Twilight. At the beginning Twilight had trouble keeping up with the physical exercises but when J had started teaching magic, Twilight sucked up that information like a sponge. J had taught her several defense spells like barriers and blinding flashes. However, J primarily focused on offense, teaching Twilight how to use some of the small spells she know, like telekinesis and teleportation, to better her fighting skills. Even though J wasn't going to send her into battle, he knew that there was going to be some point were she would have to defend herself. J was just preparing her for that moment.

Nearing the end of the seventh day at the camp, J decided to have bring The Reapers, Twilight, and Isabel together to see their progress.

"It's been a long three days since you all started your training with me and I am very impressed. Training will get you to a certain point, you need to experience a real fight to better your skills. So I'm going to pit each and every one of you against another in a spar. The rules are simple, you win if you either pin or knock out your opponent."

J back up and picked two ponies for The Reapers. They begun and went at it, dodging and attacking skillfully, but every battle has a winner. One of the ponies took advantage of the others mistake and pinned him to the ground. One after another, everypony in The Reapers sparred against each other showing J that they had all progressed so far. J turned, the only two left were Isabel and Twilight. He was tempted to spar with Isabel himself but he already knew Isabel's ability and what he had taught Twilight and Isabel over the past three day was just a refresher for Isabel. He then taught about putting Twilight against Isabel but that idea was flushed away by another.

"Twilight, your next." J said as he watched Twilight walked out in front of the group of ponies.

"Who am I fighting?" She asked as she looked around.

J removed his cloak and weapons and gently set them on the ground. "You're going to be sparring against me."

* * *

**Here's Chapter 24 for everypony, enjoy**

**The action's heating up. Who do you think is going to win this little spar?**

**Feel free to leave a comment or review. Tell me what you think about the story.**

**See everypony Thursday.**


	28. Chapter 25

**The Royal Protector**

**Chapter 25**

Twilight audibly gulped as she faced J. All week, she had trained beside J and bettered herself in magic. J had worked her to then bone, refusing to move on until she had learned everything he had put in front of her. She was finally getting the chance to show J that she wasn't a waste of time.

"Are you ready Twilight?" J asked as he looked the lavender mare over.

"Y-yes, I'm ready." Twilight answered back as she braced herself for what was to come.

"Same rule apply with the addition of magic use."

Twilight nodded and waited for J's go. There was a pause; the only sounds were the wind and the sound of ponies shouting in pain. This sound had been present all week due to a game that Connor played with the Shadow Strikers. He called it Hide-or-pain. Everything quieted down, the wind stopped blow and the pony shouts ceased for a moment.

"Go!" J shouted as he started to run at Twilight.

Twilight reacted by teleporting away from J at the same distance they started at. J ran at her again causing Twilight to teleport again. This was repeated several times.

"You can't always run away from your opponent Twilight." J said as he watched Twilight teleport again.

"Watch me." she said as she teleported again. However, J was ready this time.

He shot a fireball at where he thought Twilight was going to appear. Luckily enough, she appeared right next to it. She was barely able to dodge the fireball. When Twilight looked back, J was standing in front of her with his hand in front of her face.

"You were way too predictable." He said as he blasted Twilight with enough force to send her flying back.

Twilight was blasted a good 15 feet before she regained her footing, but by that time, J was already on her. J had ran at her and planned on using his momentum to hit Twilight with his palm, disorienting her and causing her to lose. However, when J got close and lashed out, his hand was stopped by an invisible force. He looked down to see the area around Twilight rippling like the surface of water once a stone is tossed in.

'Clever.' thought J. 'She casted this barrier at the beginning of the fight. That's why the fireball had missed her; she had pulled it closer to her body so I wouldn't notice it. No matter, barriers can still be broken.'

J pulled his palm back and struck the barrier again. It rippled the same way he hit it last time. Once again, J pulled his palm back, but this time, he focused his magic into his palm in hopes to shatter the barrier like a glass vase. He hit it again, with the same results. J stood there both fascinated and impressed by the strength of Twilight's barrier. Not even her brother could accomplish a barrier this powerful.

"Not going to happen J. My family has been known for casting the best barriers in Equestria. You helped me perfect this barrier to the point where even your magic can't break it."

J groaned slightly, he remembered the hours he spent on the second day teaching Twilight how to perfect a barrier she told him about. This back to bite him and the bite was going to sting.

Twilight lowered her horn slightly as it lit up with a magenta hue. J could feel the area around him begin to distort, as if Twilight was trying to pick him up. Have a couple horrible flashbacks, J quickly overflowed the area around Twilight's horn with own magic, successfully disrupting her magic.

As J was focusing on Twilight's magic, Twilight stopped casting and buck J in the chest, sending him back several feet. J reeled back but managed to maintain his footing. He looked back at Twilight to see that she had pulled one of his daggers out of its holster and held it in front of her.

"Let's make this a little more intense shall we?" She said as she lazily swung the dagger.

It was strange that Twilight wanted to act this violent. She always preferred studying from tomes and practicing them with J watching. Rarely has she gotten violent. But, they indicated to J that Twilight was ready for a real fight and a real fight he would give her. J pulled his other dagger over to him and held it in a ready position.

"Then let's change the rules slightly." J said as he touched the ground. A blue light emitted from his hand and traveled through the ground until it had made a circle around Twilight and himself.

"First one to be knocked out of this circle loses." J said.

Twilight nodded and the two began to circle. It seemed like an eternity before J had the first move. He swung at Twilight with a vertical slash followed by another. Twilight dodged both of them smoothly and countered by swung the other dagger at J's now down arm. J pulled back just in time for the two daggers to meet with a loud clang. They both stood there pushing against each other's dagger hoping to get the best of the other. Eventually, Twilight had amplified the amount of magic she was using to hold the dagger and forced J back by batting his dagger off hers.

J was impressed; he didn't even teach Twilight how to do what she just did. That method of fighting with magic was in that book he had given to Twilight for the favor he owed her. She must have read that book front and back because that was one of the harder things to master in that book. Even if it was a book about magical theory, this gave Twilight a massive advantage over J on the battlefield. That's way she was so eager to take this spar up a notch. J frowned upon his past self's stupidity. That barrier Twilight had used was part of the book as well.

Twilight noticed that J was deep in thought and jumped into action. She teleported behind him and fluxed the shield she had surrounding her, sending J back once more. This action knocked J out of his thought and had him focused on the fight in front of him. This time, J waited for Twilight to make the first move, which was teleporting behind him. J turned quickly and lashed out with his dagger. He caught the steel of his other dagger. He looked Twilight in the eyes and could feel her start to increase the amount of force on the object.

'Two can play at that game Twilight. Except I'm and expert at this game.' Thought J as he started to increase his magic as well.

Slowly and steadily, both Twilight and J increased their force on the daggers until the auras of magic were visible on both of them. They both strained to gain control of the stalemate before them, slowly increasing and increasing. Eventually the level of magic being used started to reach a dangerous level.

'This needs to end, if goes on any longer, Twilight might hurt herself.' J said. He then pulled one of his hands off of the dagger and began focusing his magic. He waited a moment and his hand was completely lit up. In his hand, J held enough force to send Twilight out of the circle and then some. As he was about to cast it, J could see that Twilight was channeling her magic into her horn again creating the same magenta hue. J pushed his hand forward and the force dispersed from his hand and wrapped itself around Twilight. Just before Twilight was thrown backwards, she cast the spell that she was focusing on. It happened to be exactly like J's spell. The magic left Twilight's horn and wrapped itself around him, sending him flying backwards as well.

They both flew out of the circle and skidded along the ground before coming to a complete stop. They stood up, brushed themselves off, and walked over to Isabel to see who won.

"It was a tie." Stated Isabel. "Both you and Twilight left the circle and the exact same time, as oddly as it sounds."

J chuckled slightly and turned to Twilight. "You sure gave me a tough time Twilight. I am very impressed at how far you have progressed over the week."

What can I say; I had a pretty good teacher." Twilight said with a smile.

"That and a certain book on magical theory that you received as part of a favor."

Twilight looked at J with a surprised look. "You actually noticed that. I've read the book over multiple times and it really gave a good description on the fighting styles used in your world. I found the one using an invisible barrier and the one using increased force on weapons very interesting so I looked into those a bit more."

J smiled and turned to the others gathered around the pair. "Alright, it's been a long day, let's rest and get ready for tomorrow. You are all dismissed."

The other ponies around him save for Isabel and Twilight, headed in different directions. So headed out to Ponyville to venture the town and some headed back over to the camp to rest for tomorrow. J waited until everypony was gone until he turned to Isabel and Twilight.

"I don't know about you two but I'm starving. Let's meet up with the others and have dinner."

"Yeah, watching you two fight made me hungry." said Isabel as she brought up one of her hooves and held over her stomach.

Twilight nodded in agreement. "I'm starving after that fight."

J smiled slightly and motioned Twilight and Isabel to follow. "Let's get going then. If everypony else is there, There might not be much food left."

Twilight and Isabel followed J as he led the pair to the dining area. For the past week, all the officers, trainers, and Elements have gathered here every night for a joined dinner. This gave J something to look forward to at the end of the day. A place where he could sit back and enjoy himself while surrounded by his friends. J took his spot in the middle of the table that everpony sat at. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ponies/human that surrounded him. Twilight and her friends were gathered on one side of the table, along with Twilight's assistant Spike who has been visiting the camp periodically over the past week. Order, Gear, Connor, and J himself sat in the middle of the table; Order, Gear and Connor arguing about the severity of Connor's games with the Shadow Strikers. To be fair, the Shadow Strikers always returned to the camp with incredibly horrid wounds. J was about to intervene for the sake of the troops but the Shadow Strikers had insisted to continue.

On the other side of the table, all of the army ponies sat together. J thought it was quite humorous that the ponies he ate with split themselves up in group, even to eat. Shining and Cadance sat side-by-side while Blackout and the three trainers listened to Shining talk about his recruit days, how he became Captain of the Royal Guard, and how he met Cadance. Each was a wonderful story, masterfully told by the story weaver himself. J then leaned forward in his chair and stood up. He looked around once more before getting everyponies attention. Once they were quiet J began

"It's been a long week, one incredibly long week. The troops had all worked and trained hard. I'm surprised that none of them gave up when it got tough. That just makes me respect them even more. We have taken an already incredible group of soldiers and began to mold them into something greater. Something to protect Equestria from any threat she may face, no matter the size, appearance, or number of the enemy. But don't think of this in a wrong way, this would have never been possible if it wasn't for all of you. Each and every one of you has contributed in your own way and for that, I am extremely grateful.

"I've realized how crazy my requests sound. Putting everypony back into training to get ready to fight an enemy that you all haven't even seen with your own eyes. I'm honored to have all of you helping."

J reached down and grabbed a mug that was sitting in front of him.

"I propose a toast, to all of you, to the troops, to the upcoming week, and to Equestria; may she live in glory for an eternity."

Everypony picked up their mugs, some with their magic, some with their hooves, and held them in the air. Each and every one of them cheered and then took a drink from their mugs. For the rest of dinner, everypony, and Connor, celebrated the success of the end of the first half of their training and welcomed the next week with open arms.

After about two hours, everyponies stomach was full and they left the dining area to return to the officer's tent and get some rest for tomorrow

* * *

In the distance, the sound of wings buzzing at incredible speeds got closer and closer to the camp. After a long, grueling week of travel, Queen Chrysalis and her small army had finally made it to where her Lord told her to go. She looked into the distance and saw the camp that rose from the flat land north of Ponyville. Chrysalis snarled at the thought of the creature she was about to face but she didn't fear it at all. Her Lord had given her the means to dispatch this so called J.

"Orders milady?" asked one of the changeling troops Chrysalis had brought with her.

"We attack immediately, not disguises, I want them to know that it was us that slaughtered them all. Once you get close enough, draw power from the rune on your back."

Chrysalis looked back behind her and easily spotted a black rune on her back. It was similar to the ones that every changeling bore. With that rune, she was unstoppable, she would kill J and nothing would stop her from marching on the capital and taking everyponies love and maybe a little more afterwards. Chrysalis looked forward as a wicked smile grew on her face.

"Attack." Is all she said.

All of her troops and her included took of once more but this time with the intent to attack and kill.

* * *

**I like to think of this chapter as the calm before the storm. Even though that spar between Twilight and J was action filled, the next chapter starts what I like to call "The Conflict Period." Why do I call it that? You'll find out soon enough. **

**The bigger question is how the changeling attack will turn out. Will Chrysalis successfully attack the camp or will she be met with heavy resistance? I myself already know the answer to this question but everpony out there reading this story won't find out till next Thursday. **

**Same time same place next Thursday everypony.**

**UPDATE:**

**This is something I added to inform everyone who is expecting a chapter at the regular time on Thursday. There has been a series of storm in my town and has cut my power completely. I type this now off of a crappy hotspot near my house. There will be no new chapter this week and the story will not pick back up until April 11th. For I am going to England for spring break. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience**

**-Blazing Inferno 65 **


	29. Chapter 26

**The Royal Protector**

**Chapter 26**

J was awoken from his sleep by the feeling of being violently shaken. He sat up quickly and turned to see Gear was the one that had awoken him.

"What's wrong Gear?" asked J as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"This is bad really bad J, they're closing in and they're coming for blood." Gear said in a panicked voice.

J sat up, Gear never acted like this. Ever since he and J became friend in Canterlot, Gear always kept a level head.

"Who's coming Gear?" J asked.

Gear paused and looked J in the eyes. "Lady Chrysalis and her guard are nearing the camp."

J quickly jumped out of his cot and began to put all of his gear on. "What can you tell me about this force Chrysalis brought with her?" J asked as he continued to gather his things.

"Well uh... from what I remember, Lady Chrysalis has an elite guard about twenty strong that she kept close to her. The fact that she and her guard are coming here means she here for an all-out fight."

J tightened the strap that held the sheathe to Light's Edge and looked back at Gear.

"Is that all?"

Gear closed his eyes tight in hopes of remembering. He reopened them and looked up at J.

"Every member is well trained in close combat and destructive magic. I would recommend that you, Order, Shining Armor, and Isabel go while the rest stay back and protect the camp."

J looked at Gear with a furrowed brow. "Why do you recommend that only four of us take on twenty changelings and Chrysalis? Explain your reasoning behind that."

"Well, you four are the more talented in both magic and close combat. You and Isabel have your own type of magic, Shining Armor has his barriers, and Order is an Alicorn. Ponies/person like Connor or Blackout would be able to fight but would have no way of blocking magical attacks."

"And you thought up all of this just now?" J asked.

"It's the only logical thing to do." Gear said.

J accepted Gear's idea and began to wake up the others in the tent. One-by-one everypony got out of their cots and collected at the center of the tent.

"What's the problem?" asked Connor. "I was having the best dream about this girl I know back in my recruit days."

"Like any sane woman would be interested in a slob like you Connor." Snorted Isabel from as the tent.

"You're talking to me aren't you? I guess that means you're interested." Connor said with a smile.

"Uhg, in your dreams." groaned Isabel.

"Wow, I just got the biggest feeling ofdéjà vu. That's what the girl said to me just before we started to..."

"That's enough!" yelled J loud enough to get everyponies attention. "We don't have time for this bickering, a problem has arisen."

"And how important could this problem be that it woke us up in the middle of the night?" asked Blackout with a skeptical look on his face.

"A problem big enough to threaten the well-being of the camp. Chrysalis and her elite guard are closing in on the camp. I'm going to take several of you and deal with them before they can reach the camp. The rest will stay behind and alert the rest of the camp of the situation."

There was a pause.

"Alright, that important." Said Blackout

"Listen carefully, all of you. Order, Shining, and Isabel you're going with me. Get your armor, weapons, anything ready and meet me at the front of the camp. The rest of you, stay here, warn the soldiers, protect the camp, and for the love of whatever goddess you all worship; if any changelings pass us, do not let them get to Ponyville."

Everypony nodded into agreement and scattered to do their assigned task. J turned on his heels and left the tent. He walked to the front of the camp and waited. He looked out into the dark plains that surrounded the camp. He could literally feel Chrysalis's power from where he was standing. That meant that Gear was telling the truth, Chrysalis was actually here. The only question remaining was besides a fight, why is she coming here?

'If the changelings worship The Corruption as a god than she's probably here because The Corruption sent her. Why else would a ruler of a species attack a single camp? You wouldn't see Princess Celestia leading a squad of Royal Guards into battle. It's stupid for a leader of a country to even be close to the battlefield.'

J knew this tactic well; it was an excellent moral raiser. But not only did it raise moral, it struck fear in the heart of those being attacked. The thought that the battle being fought was so important that the enemy leader was participating as well was a frightening thought.

"No matter, she will realize the folly of her decisions a moment too late." J said under his breath.

J lifted his left hand up and a black ball of fire started to form in his hand. He closed his fist quickly and watched as the flame disappeared. He reopened his hand and saw a small rune circle in the palm of his hand. He smiled; he rarely got to use this spell. However, this situation called for extreme measures and that included some spells that J tried to refrain himself from using. Black Hellfire. One of the most destructive spells J knew and it came with a cost. If worse came to worse, J would have a back-up plan.

A few minutes later the others that were going with J finally made their way to the front of the camp. Shining was in his official Captain of the Royal Guard armor while both Isabel and Order were wearing the same type of armor but in different color schemes.

"Look what Order was able to do!" Exclaimed Isabel in pure excitement. "He casted a spell and created this badass armor for me."

"J told me that you were quite talented with the forge. Why have you not made yourself some armor by now?" Asked Shining.

"It's wouldn't be the same, my human hands had a magic touch about them. It just put that special feeling into my crafts." Isabel said while she shrugged.

"If you two are done, I would recommend that we pull our attention to the current matter at hand." Order said in a regal voice.

Alright, Alright." Isabel said rolling her eyes at the Alicorn. He looked over to J. "We're all ready J."

"Good, let's get going." He said. He turned and began to walk out of the camp and towards the direction of the incoming changeling attackers.

The others quickly followed J out of the camp.

The group walked for a good four miles until J stopped them.

"The changeling are close, we will wait here until they arrive." J said without looking at the group

Isabel sighed happily. "At least we have some time to rest before they get..."

Isabel was cut off by the sound of wings buzzing. The group looked further ahead and saw a black mass of changelings headed right towards them.

"Dammit." Isabel said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Their timing is impeccable." Order laughed lightly as he watched the black mass get closer and closer until the he could actually see the changelings.

The changeling approached the group and landed. Each changeling wore a set of ceremonial armor much like Shining but black and green instead of gold and purple. Behind the group of changeling stood Chrysalis in all of her regal glory.

"It seems we don't have to look for you any further, you came to us." Chrysalis said in a smooth voice.

J stepped forward. "Chrysalis, I'm only going to say this once. I will not allow you to harm anypony here or in Ponyville. Turn around now or you will pay for your actions."

Chrysalis let lose a loud laugh. "You think I'm here to attack Ponyville or your little camp?!"

J frowned. "Why are you here then?"

"I here because our Dark Lord wants you wiped of the face of Equestria."

J took a step back and slowly placed his hands on his daggers.

"Oh really?" J said in a sarcastic voice. "Tell me something Chrysalis, why do you serve The Corruption? You are the ruler of the changelings, why do you take orders from such a lowly spirit?"

"Silence your tongue!" Chrysalis snapped at J. "He is our god, he will give us power, he has given us power, and now I'm going to use his power to kill you."

"You can try." J said with a smile on his face.

"Attack!" Chrysalis yelled. Immediately, Chrysalis's whole elite guard started to rush the group. The first two that reached the group immediately went for J. The first bared his fangs and tried to bite him. J quickly dodged the bite and grabbed the changeling's throat. He began to squeeze as hard as he could until he heard an audible crack. He dropped the lifeless body and turned to the next changeling. The only thing he saw was a green hue surround the changeling's jagged horn. Suddenly, a large ball of fire was launched towards J at blinding speeds. J didn't have time to conjure up a barrier so he pulled his arm up and held it over his face. He waited for the fireball to hit but never felt the burn of the attack. J moved his arm to see a black barrier had blocked the spell.

"You're getting slow old man!" Isabel called out from her spot behind J.

J rolled his eyes and pulled one of his daggers out. Isabel quickly dispelled her barrier and before the changeling was able to launch another fireball, J tossed his dagger aiming at the changeling's throat. The dagger connected and the changeling let out a labored gasp before he fell to the ground. J pulled the dagger back to him with his magic and ran towards the next changeling he saw.

As soon as he was close enough, J gave the changeling a swift but firm kick to the stomach and watched the changeling fly into the air. The changeling recovered and flew straight at J. Stupid idea. J reared back and hit the changeling with his fist. The force of the punch combined with the speed of the changeling was more than enough to break the changeling's neck... and his face... and his everything. The changeling had literally turned into a bag of blood and bones, but this didn't stop J. He moved quickly and was able to get out of the fighting. He looked back and saw that his friend had already begun to join in the fight.

Order was currently taking on three changelings. The first leapt at him but he managed to jump out of the way before the changeling touched him. In return, Order's horn lit up a dark red color and the changeling was pulled off of the ground. The changeling was slammed against the ground causing a loud thump sound. The other two changelings looked down at their comrade in horror. This gave Order the opportunity he needed. Order summoned an ethereal sword and thrusted it towards the closest of the two changelings. Before the other could react, Order had pulled the sword out of the first changeling and sliced at the other changeling effectively decapitating it.

Isabel had two changelings in the grasp of her magic and left them floating in the air. Suddenly, the two changelings burst into flame and were slowly burnt to death. Isabel smiled widely and moved on to her next target.

Shining stuck to using his hooves against the changelings. A changeling leapt at him, but Shining stood his ground. Shining then turned around and bucked the attacking changeling in the face. Two changelings then attacked Shining. The first tackled Shining to the ground and held him there. The second moved around to the side and was about to bring his hoof down. Shining dodged the hoof just before it hit the ground. He sighed in relief and looked back at the hoof. Without hesitation, Shining bit down on the hoof causing the changeling to jump back and yelp in pain. Shining then looked up at the changeling sitting on top of him and head-butted him as hard as he could. The changeling rolled off Shining holding his head and shouting swears. The second changeling had recovered for the bite Shining gave him and jumped at him, fangs bared. Shining simply fell back as the changeling jumped at him. As he passed over Shining, Shining gave the changeling a nice kick in the stomach. This sent him rolling to the ground right next to his comrade. Shining quickly got up and approached the two and in one swift motion stood up on his hind legs and brought his front legs down on the heads of both changelings. Shining scraped the changeling bits off of his hoof and moved to the next changeling.

J looked over the battlefield once more, he wasn't looking for attacking changelings, and he wasn't looking after his comrades. He was looking for Chrysalis. If she was defeated, this whole fight would stop. The only problem was that J couldn't find her. He saw Order and Shining fighting side-by-side, quickly taking out hat opposed them. He then looked for Isabel but could not find her. He looked again and again but she was nowhere to be found.

J looked past the remaining changelings and off in the distance he could see Chrysalis, but she wasn't alone. Isabel was right beside her and they had both engaged in combat, Isabel was using an ethereal sword while Chrysalis didn't even have a weapon. J looked back to Order and Shining and yelled to them.

"Keep the rest busy, I need to help Isabel!"

J took off from his spot and dashed towards Isabel. He looked back to see if any changelings were following him, he had two on his tail. J was just about to turn around and deal with them but out of the corner of his eye he saw hem being pulled back by a red and magenta aura. He turned his attention to the two in front of him, Chrysalis on his right and Isabel on his left. It seemed that the fight was leaning more in Chrysalis's favor. She was easily dodging and blocking every slice and thrust Isabel was throwing at her. Chrysalis countered with fireball with was blocked by one of Isabel's barriers. She quickly dispelled the barrier and dashed at Chrysalis. She sliced three times and brought the sword down in an overhead slice. The sword was caught on a sickly green colored barrier that belonged to Chrysalis.

"You fight like a foal, so weak and easily angered. I'm not even trying." She exclaimed as she looked Isabel in the eyes.

"You're...so...cocky." Said Isabel between her labored pants. It had been a while since she had been in an actual life or death fight.

'Damn I'm so out of shape.' she thought as she continued to maintain eye contact with Chrysalis.

"You're obviously not going to win. You look like you're at your limit. Why don't you just give up? You know you can't win."

Isabel laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Chrysalis.

"Oh, I'm not fighting you to beat you, I'm just distracting you." Isabel said with a small smile.

To her side, Isabel could see her cloaked teacher running at Chrysalis. It was almost like Isabel was watching the whole thing in slow motion. She watched as J got closer and closer until he was with the hitting range. J pulled his fist back and using the momentum of his running speed, punched at the shield. Isabel laughed slightly, that plan came together perfectly.

* * *

**Flashback**

During their walk to face Chrysalis, J slowed down and waited for Isabel to catch up.

"Hey Isabel, I need to talk to you." J said to Isabel from his spot at the front.

She quickly made her way next to J and began to walk beside him.

"Whatcha' need?" She asked her teacher.

"I need you to listen to me Isabel, I have a plan and if it goes off without a hitch then we can end this thing as quickly as possible. Avoid fighting the changeling guard; leave that to Order, Shining, and I. Focus on finding Chrysalis and fighting her."

"What if I can't beat her?" Asked Isabel with a concerned look on her face.

"That's the thing, you don't have to. All you have to do is keep her occupied long enough for me to find you and intervene. We'll be able to easily defeat her in a 2-on-1 fight."

Isabel nodded and J looked forward.

"The changeling are close, we will wait here until they arrive."

**End Flashback**

* * *

The punch landed on the shield and caused it to shatter like glass. This gave Isabel a chance and she slashed at Chrysalis's chest. The changeling queen quickly jumped back and examined the hit she took. Blood began to spill out the cut on her chest. She looked up and the two and smiled.

"I'm so glad you decided to join the fight J. I thought my guard had actually killed you."

"When a leader is weak, the soldiers are weak as well." J said with a frown on his face. "For an elite guard, those changelings were quite easy to kill."

"Hehehehe, you'll find that I'm am quite different form my guard." Chrysalis said as she healed her chest. She looked up to J and breathed in deeply. "Let's end this." She said in a cruel.

J reached to his back, pulled out Light's Edge, and held it in front of him. "I couldn't agree more."

Chrysalis's horn lit up and a blast of air pushed Isabel away from J. A large green barrier then enclosed on the two fighters.

"It wouldn't be any fun if anypony interfered." Chrysalis said with a chuckle.

She paused for a moment.

"Now, let me show you the power our Dark Lord gave me to dispose of you."

Chrysalis began to smile as black shadows began to encase her body. After several seconds, the shadows had completely enveloped her body and the only thing distinguishable from the black was Chrysalis's green eyes.

"**Now die.**" Chrysalis said in a distorted voice as she shot what looked to be pure shadow at J.

J channeled magic into Light's Edge and let loose a crescent wave of bright magical energy. The crescent made contact with the shadows and both dissipated.

Chrysalis growled. "**I'll gut you with that sword**."

J didn't reply, instead, he raised his sword to a ready position and dashed at Chrysalis. In response, Chrysalis rose up on her hind legs and slammed her hooves on the ground. Shadowy spike erupted from the ground and stopped J midway through his charge. He rolled to the side and slashed at the spikes causing them to fade away. He then raised his hand and a fireball shot towards Chrysalis. She quickly put up a barrier and waited for the fireball to hit. As soon as it hit, the fireball exploded into a cloud of thick, black smoke. Chrysalis dispelled her barrier and looked around. The smoke had completely enveloped the area around her. She growled slightly, J was turning out to be more of a nuisance than a threat. Her shadow-covered horn glowed a sickly green and a gust of air blew the smoke away. She looked around once again; J was nowhere to be seen.

"**Where did he go**?" Chrysalis said sharply.

"Right here."

Chrysalis turned to see J's sword aimed at her throat. The hit connected and the sound of metal hitting fleshed filled the air. Chrysalis looked down and saw that the cut only went through the shadows surrounding her body. The skin underneath was unharmed and the shadows began to reform around her neck. She looked up and gave J a smug smile but that expression was cut short. J pulled his sword back around, twisted, and hit Chrysalis in the same spot. He then pulled out one of his daggers and stabbed it into where Chrysalis's front leg connected to her body. She flailed back in pain but J didn't pause there. He pulled out his other dagger and did the same thing to the other front leg. Chrysalis fell forward and screamed in pain. She looked up and saw J pointing his sword at her.

"You can no longer fight, do you surrender?"

"**Why would I surrender to you, you are nothing, you will always be nothing.**" Chrysalis said in-between pained pants.

J frowned. "If this is how it has to be, then so be it."

J lifted his sword above his head and looked back down at Chrysalis.

"May The Keeper have mercy on your soul."

J pulled back his sword and prepared to kill Chrysalis.

"**Hahahahahahaha, I think now's a good time for me to intervene.**" Said Chrysalis in a deeper voice.

J's eyes widened as he realized who was talking. J immediately thrusted his sword forward and aimed it for Chrysalis's throat. His thrust was interrupted by a blast of magic that sent him flying back. J quickly recovered and looked Chrysalis who was now standing up. She still had both daggers in her legs but it looked like they didn't even affect her anymore.

"**It's been a while since I inhabited a different body**." Said the deep voice.

"The Corruption." J said to himself as he raised his sword.

"**I do have to say J, you fight well. You were almost able to kill Chrysalis. But all things must come to an end. So I stepped in to get the job done. I think you'll find me a tougher opponent the Chrysalis."**

J sneered. "I've fought and wounded you before. You don't scare me."

"**We'll see what you say when you're begging for death." **Said The Corruption.

J made the first move and launched a huge wave of magic from his sword towards The Corruption. He dodged it and caused more shadow spikes to erupt from the ground. J flipped back to dodged but as soon as he could see in front of him again, The Corruption was standing right in front of him. Two tendrils made of shadows emerged from his body, grabbed J, and flung him it the shield.

J pushed himself up weakly and grabbed his sword. He turned back to The Corruption who had pulled the daggers out of Chrysalis's legs and grasped them in each tendril. J watched as they flailed around wildly as The Corruption got closer and closer to J.

"**I've gotten stronger J."** He said with a smile. **"You'll never beat me, you never will. So I'll give you one more chance. Join me and we'll rule this world together."**

"I will never join you. I know what you did to Order, you've caused much pain in the land and I won't rest till I have killed you." J leveled his sword at The Corruption.

"**So foolish, you actually think you can beat me. You remind me of another pony. An Alicorn by the name of Princess Luna. She thought she could beat me, that she could resist my influence. But she failed and that resulted in one of my better creations Nightmare Moon."**

"Unlike Luna, I can beat you and I will." J said as he began to dash at The Corruption.

He slashed at one of the tendrils but missed as it raised up and struck at J. J blocked the tendril as he brought his sword back up. He completely forgot about the other tendril but was reminded when felt a burning sensation run across his chest. J pulled back and placed his hand on his chest. Blood had begun to seep from the freshly created wound on his chest. He rubbed the blood off of his hand and swung at The Corruption. This time, J focused his magic into the blade and swung at The Corruption instead of his tendrils. However, J's swing was blocked by a third tendril that emerged from Chrysalis's body.

"**You didn't think I would let you hit me with that again did you?"** The Corruption said laughing slightly. The Corruption then pushed J's blade off of the tendril and quickly slashed his face with one dagger and stabbed his shoulder with the other. With one of his tendrils still the dagger, The Corruption slowly pushed J to the ground and watched as he clenched his teeth in pain.

"**And now I watch as another enemy crumbles in my grasp." **

The Corruption slowly lifted up one of the daggers and smiled at J.

"**Any last words J?"** He asked.

J just laughed.

"**What so funny?"** asked The Corruption angrily.

"Hehehe, I can't believe I forgot to use it."

"**Use what!?"** yelled The Corruption.

J's expression with from funny to serious as he held up his left hand. "This."

Black fire erupted from J's hand and engulfed The Corruption. The Corruption flailed back as he attempted to put out the fire but with no avail. As J listened, the scream of The Corruption changed from his deep voice back to that of Chrysalis's.

J smiled, he had won for now but he knew that that didn't kill The Corruption. It would slow him down maybe, it might even harm him but J doubted it.

* * *

On the outside of the sickly green barrier, Order Isabel, and Shining had just finished off the last of the changelings and turned their attention to J's fight.

Isabel looked on in complete surprise. "I can't believe he just used that."

"What in Celestia's name did J just use?" asked Shining.

"He used a spell known as Black Hellfire, one of the most destructive spells from our world." Said Isabel as she continued to look at J.

"How was that the most destructive in your world? It looked like black fire to me." said Order.

"Hellfire is a type of fire that does not stop burning. On top of that, hellfire gets its name because when it burns somepony to death, their soul is burnt away as well and they are sent straight to the underworld." Isabel frowned. "I've only seen him use it one other time, that when he told me all about it. The only problem is that whenever somepony uses Black Hellfire, a piece of their soul is chipped away. If it's used enough times, your soul gets sent to the underworld as well."

"How many times can one use it till they're sent to Tartarus?" asked Order.

There was a pause. "Three."

Suddenly the sickly green barrier faded away the group was able to get to J.

"J, are you alright?" Isabel asked as she approached her teacher.

"I'm fine Isabel, it's just a scratch." He said as he pulled his dagger out of his shoulder.

At least it's over." Shining said as he looked at the still burning body of Chrysalis.

"We still have to finish the training camp Shining. After that, we have a lot more work on our hands." Said J.

J looked around at the bodies that littered the ground. He took a deep breath and let loose a long sigh.

"Let's burn the bodies and get back. We've got another week ahead of us."

The four nodded and began to burn the bodies of the changelings.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait everypony, had some major computer problems so this chapter had to be slightly delayed. I hope you enjoy the long awaited, longest chapter I've written.**


	30. Chapter 27

The Royal Protector

Chapter 27

The rest of the week went on without any problem. The soldiers finished their training and had moved back to Canterlot to pick back up their daily duties. J and his friends had gone back with them and were currently standing outside the throne room doors.

"I sure hope this works or all of this will have been for nothing." Said Shining Armor as the group readied themselves to enter the throne room.

"Do not worry." Order reassured. "Even Princess Celestia wouldn't let a threat like this go unanswered. With the proof we have, there's no way she can say no."

"I hope that is true." J replied. "I have faith in Celestia; I know she'll make the right choice."

Suddenly the throne room doors were opened and one of the royal guard ponies walked through.

"The Princess will see you now J." He said sternly.

"Thank you." J said as he nodded.

Before he took his next step he looked back to his friends. Everypony was there. Shining and Blackout, some of his oldest friends stood side-by-side. J could easily recall the countless missions he had helped Shining with and the number of drinks he owed Blackout. Beside them were Connor, Order, and Gear. He remembered the day each of them had joined J on his quest to protect Equestria from The Corruption. Next were Cadance and the Elements. Twilight and her friends were among some of the first friends he made in Equestria. Even Rainbow Dash eventually warmed up to him and the two had become friends over time. To think, all it took was one talk about adopting a foal. After them was Isabel, J's dear student. Isabel had been with him before he came into Equestria. Although her body was changed, her mind and personality had remained the same. They were all his friends and the fact that they had come this far with him says a lot about their friendship.

J turned his head, looked back at the throne room door, and walked through. The other immediately followed as J had approached Princess Celestia. They all bowed and stood back up.

"J, I am glad to see that you have returned. I take it that the joint training exercise went off without a hitch?" Asked Celestia with a smile on her face.

"Everything was perfect except for one small thing." J said as he kept his eyes on Celestia.

"What happened?" Asked Celestia as she sat up in her throne.

J looked over and noticed that Luna, who was sitting on a throne over to the side, sit up as well.

"Well." J began, "At the end of the first week, we had a problem." J paused before moving on. "Queen Chrysalis and her changelings attempted to attack the camp."

"What!" Screamed both Princesses. "This crime shall not go unpunished. The changelings have already proven themselves to be quite the nuisance." Said Luna.

J put his hand up. "There are reasons they attacked the camp." Said J.

"And what would those reasons be?" Asked Celestia.

J sighed. "I haven't been completely honest with you two about the past two weeks. This exercise wasn't really an exercise, it was a training camp. A training camp that prepared those who believed that The Corruption was real for the fight against him."

Celestia groaned. "J, you can't possibly believe that The Corruption is a real threat?"

"Yes I believe that, how could you not. You saw for yourself the effects The Corruption had on Order. It morphed him into Discord and it was the cause of Gaia's death."

"I know good and well what happened to Gaia but it was Order's own fault, his own lust for power caused him to morph into Discord." Celestia said with a hiss.

Order stepped forward. "You know good and well that I had no such lust. I ruled fairly until The Corruption saw it fit to ruin my life. So next time you try and speak for another pony, watch what you say and get your facts right."

"Who are you to tell me what to do? Your actions devastated my family, let alone your subjects. You know what the first thing I saw was when I entered Equestria? I saw one of your guards kill a mother and her foal, a mother and her foal. That is unacceptable let alone immoral. I don't even know why I let J release you in the first place. You were better off as a statue."

"Sister!" Yelled Luna. "Watch thy tongue. I believe J is right about The Corruption. Before I became Nightmare Moon, I can remember a voice telling me that it would give me power if I was loyal to it. In the end I see the folly of my ways and realize that that voice was The Corruption talking."

"Where did you come up with that sister?" asked Celestia as she looked over at her.

"Luna's right." Started J. "The Corruption itself told me that I reminded him of Princess Luna. That I thought that I could beat him and resist his influence. Don't you see Celestia, the reason Discord happened was because of The Corruption. The reason Nightmare Moon happened was because of The Corruption. All I need is for you to help. If you could help me, beings like Discord and Nightmare Moon would cease being a problem."

Immediately, Luna stood from her throne and walked towards J.

"I will help thee J. I know what it feels like to be manipulated and used to further one's agenda; I would never wish that on another pony. I will help defeat The Corruption."

J looked up to Celestia. "Celestia, will you help us?"

Celestia looked at J. "No, I will not help you and waste resources fighting an imaginary enemy. If you all would just open your eyes and see that what you think is wrong."

J shook his head. "I'm sorry Celestia, I know The Corruption is real and I will not stand back and watch as it destroys the land I swore to protect."

Celestia sighed and then frowned. "Get out, all of you. Get out now."

"Sister, you're being unreasonable!" Shouted Luna.

"Unreasonable, I'm being unreasonable? I have not seen hide nor hair of this enemy. If was really a problem he would have made himself known by now."

"He has made himself known Celestia." said J. "He is using the changelings as a military force to do his dirty work. He is trying to stay as hidden from you as possible. That's why Chrysalis attacked us, The Corruption ordered her to."

"Enough about The Corruption. He is imaginary, an illusion. He is not real J, he never was. The reason those things happened to Order and my sister was their own doing. They knew where the path they were traveling would take them and they continued to walk down it." Celestia shook her head. "I never expected this from you J. I thought that you would bring Equestria into a new era of peace, not lead it into war."

She looked down the line of ponies that J had with him.

"Cadance, Shining Armor, Blackout, do you really believe that The Corruption is real?"

Out of the three, Shining took a step forward.

"I have seen him with my own two eyes Princess. I will not rest till Equestria is free of his evil. I also speak for my wife and my comrade as well. They believe the same and we will not turn our backs on J."

Celestia then looked over to Twilight and her friends.

"Twilight, do you and your friends plan to do the same?"

Twilight didn't answer her question, Applejack and Rainbow Dash took a step forward and answered it instead.

"We saw The Corruption too, we saw what it did ta J. Ah don't want that ta happen ta Equestria. Ah'll do anythin' to keep The Corruption at bay."

"I'm with AJ." said Rainbow Dash. "At first I thought that J was trouble because of what he did to Twilight but he turned out to be a pretty cool guy. Whatever that thing was in the forest that J fought, it was evil like totally evil. I wouldn't want anything like that running loose in Equestria. So I'll help J, we all will, because we're his friends and that's what friends do."

Celestia looked away with a sad expression and turned to her sister.

"Sister, you don't plan on helping do you?"

"I plan on doing more than just helping sister." began Luna. "I know The Corruption's real and when I find him, I will rend him limb from limb, reform him, heal him, and do it again until my rage has subsided."

"I can't believe that all of you actually believe that The Corruption is a real threat." Celestia said as she looked over the group. "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you all to go marauding around until you find your make-believe enemy."

She motioned at the far wall and eight guards approached the throne.

"Guards, take everypony here to the dungeon and let them think about what is real and what isn't. They may be released once they realize the folly of their thoughts."

The eight guards nodded and began to close in on the group.

"Sister, stop this at once, this is unnecessary."

Celestia didn't answer, instead she just watched as the guards started to lead the group out of the throne room. They didn't fight back; they knew no good came from it. Just as they were about to reach the door leading out of the throne room a loud voice called out.

"_Celestia, stop this foolishness at once._"

Everypony in the room turned to see a white ball of light touch down in the center of the room. The ball of light faded and what looked like an Alicorn made of pure light stood in its place.

"The Keeper." J whispered to himself as he looked upon the Alicorn.

"Who are you?" asked Celestia as she jumped out of her throne and readied herself for an attack.

"_Calm yourself Celestia; I am The Keeper, the Shepard of Soul. I am here to warn you Celestia. The Corruption is real as will stop at nothing to get what he desires. As we speak, he readies himself to attack Canterlot. You must not allow him to win for if he does, Equestria will be shrouded in the shadows of corruption for the rest of time."_

Celestia remained silent as she took in the information just relayed to her. The Keeper turned away from her and walked over to J.

"_I think it is time that I told you something J. Something that I should have told you at the beginning but you were not ready for the truth."_

"What truth would that be Keeper?" asked J as he pushed the guards out of the way and approached The Keeper.

The Keeper didn't respond for several moments before walking to the middle of the throne room.

"_10 years ago I felt that something was wrong in Equestria. When I looked into the matter, I found out that The Corruption had escaped his confinement from the void. Up until that point, The Corruption had only been able to project his spirit out into Equestria. The only power he had was the power of persuasion. Even that proved to be effective as he affected the minds and actions of both Princess Luna and King Sombra merely by talking to them."_

"How do you know of that wretched creature that enslaved The Crystal Empire?" asked Celestia in an angered voice.

"_I know many things that you have kept a secret from your subject. There is nothing that you can keep from me."_

The Keeper looked back at J and continued.

"_I knew that Luna and Celestia would be enough to take The Corruption down. Not even the Elements have that kind of power. So I got desperate and I did something that was not wise to do, I looked across the void in search of a being that had the strength and power to defeat The Corruption. After two years of constant searching I found you and started to watch your every move. I watched as you protected king after king from the dangers of your land. I watched you for eight years J and you had basically shown me how powerful you really were. So one night, I decided that it was time for you to come to Equestria and help us. So I teleported you and Isabel here to this land"_

"Wait, it was you that brought Isabel and I to this land. That means that you were the one that casted that rune circle. The same rune circle that's on Light's Edge. But that Rune circle belonged to ….. no, it can't be you." J said in a disbelieving voice.

"_Your assumption is correct J, I am the owner of that rune circle and the rune circle on that sword is the same one."_

J smiled. "After all this time you were right in front of me and I never realized it."

"Well somepony please explain what's going on before I call the whole Royal Guard into the throne room and have them escort each of you to the dungeon." Celestia yelled as her face began to turn red.

"It isn't very nice to talk to your sister like that Celestia; it's been a long time since you last saw each other." J said as he continued smiling.

Celestia looked at Luna and back to J.

"What are you talking about J?" she asked. "Luna's right there, I see her everyday."

"I meant her." J said as he pointed to the glowing Alicorn. The Alicorn lifted her head and her horn lit up. The light that enveloped The Keeper dissipated and there stood a brown Alicorn with a green flowing mane. Her cutie mark was the rune circle that was imbedded into the sword and the same one that J saw that fateful night. The Alicorn looked up at Celestia's throne and over at Luna.

"Oh how I've missed you both my sisters." The Alicorn said.

The ponies behind J looked as confused as Celestia was so J took it upon himself to straighten things out.

"Everypony, it is an honor to introduce to you Princess Gaia."

* * *

**Here's Chapter 27 for everypony, enjoy!**

**Expect a lot of question to be answered next chapter. So prepare yourselves to have your minds blown by the secrets of this story. Also, I am updating my profile on my upcoming stories. So if you want to see what I am going to be writing about next, go check out my profile.**

**See everypony Thursday!**


	31. Chapter 28

The Royal Protector

Chapter 28

The room was silent, not a single pony spoke as J finished his sentence. Instead, Everypony stared at the brown Alicorn standing next to J.

"G..Gaia, is that really you?" asked Luna as she looked over the Alicorn.

Gaia turned her head and looked at the dark blue Princess.

"Of course it's me sister. Oh how I've missed you and Celestia. Just look at you now, all grown up. I can remember when you two were just foals that would never leave my side." Gaia smiled as she remembered her past life.

"I...It is you!" yelled Luna as she pulled her sister into a strong embrace. "I'm so glad that thou art here. I missed thou so much."

"I missed you as well my dear baby sister." said Gaia as she pulled away from Luna and looked over at Celestia. She smiled and approached the Sun Princess.

"Oh Celestia, you look so much like mother did. Just look at you, you look as beautiful as she did."

Celestia stood up from her throne and looked at her long dead sister for a moment. Quickly she pulled her sister into a hug.

"I can't tell you how long I've dreamed of having you back. I've spend many nights wishing that things would have been different. That you didn't go to that land and confront Order. That you didn't die. But none of that matters now, you're here with me, you're here with Luna. We're a family again."

J could clearly see tears rolling down both of the Princesses faces. He had to admit, he barely got emotional but this moment of reunion was pulling on his heartstrings.

"I have done the same sister." said Gaia. "There were many nights when I looked down from the void and wished that I was with you and Luna, ruling side-by-side with you two. Now it's of no importance, I am here and I have some questions to answer."

Gaia pulled away from her sister and approached J.

"I am sorry that I kept this secret from you all of this time but it was necessary at the time to keep the truth from you. I hope you can forgive me."

"Do not worry Gaia, I understand your secrecy." began J. "I've had to keep secrets from those that I cared for before. No matter how much I wanted to tell them, it was best to let them sit in the dark until in was time for them to know."

Gaia smiled. "I'm glad that you understand, anyways, I believe you deserve some answers. So ask any question and I'll do my best to answer."

"Well" J began. "You already answered who brought us here so my next question would be why was Isabel transformed into an Alicorn when we entered this land?"

"It is quite simple." said Gaia. "Do you remember what I told you before you found Connor? I said that four Alicorns would help you win the fight. The problem was that there were only three in existence at the time. So right as you and Isabel arrived in Equestria, I morphed her into an Alicorn, thus adding a fourth Alicorn to Equestria."

J looked back at Isabel who gave him a shrug. Like she was saying that she didn't care that she was an Alicorn. J looked back at Gaia.

"I understand, it looks like Isabel doesn't care either." J laughed slightly before continuing. "How did Connor get to Equestria?

The assassin perked up upon hearing the question being asked. His face twisted into an excited smile as he waited for the brown Alicorn to give J her answer.

"The same way you arrived here J. Connor was sent by his organization to investigate your disappearance. He wondered into the same forest you and Isabel had walked through when I pulled you through. I remember looking into Connor's soul and seeing not only a great skill in combat, but loyalty as well. So I pulled him through so he could assist you in defeating The Corruption."

"I vaguely remember that assignment." Connor said. "I do remember a blinding green light and then the filling of falling."

"That answers that." J said. "Where did The Corruption come from?"

Gaia paused before answering J. "I... honestly have no idea. I know his treachery started with Order, who was transformed into Discord. After his defeat by my sister's, I was able to reach out from the void and grab onto him. I pulled him into the void and held him there for as long as I could. The next incident was with King Sombra. The Corruption was able to teach Sombra so very dark magic and with it, he enslaved the Crystal Empire before being defeated by Celestia and Luna. After that, Luna fell pray to The Corruption and thus Nightmare Moon was born. SO the answer to your question is no, I have no idea where he came from or when he came to be. All I know is where he started and what he's done."

"No matter" said J. "We'll do our best to send him back to where ever he came from."

"That's one of the reasons I brought you to Equestria J, I knew that you wouldn't stop till the job is done. I know that you will try your hardest and that's all I ask of you. Now, on to the matter at hand."

Gaia paused and walked to the middle of the throne room. Her horn began to glow with a green aura as the room began to dim slightly. A flickering picture appeared in the middle of the room, it was a picture of a black mass.

"Currently, The Corruption is without a body to inhabit thanks to J's actions at that fight with Chrysalis."

The picture than changed to an image of a giant eagle looking creature.

"This was his previous host." said Gaia. "The King of the Griffon nation, Iron Claw. However, when The Corruption left Iron Claw's body, he lost him as a host because the King had become aware that The Corruption was using him as a host and fled back to his kingdom"

The picture changed to an image of several griffons flying in formation.

"Currently, Iron Claw and his best guards are approaching Equestria with the intention of seeking the Princesses help. Direct the griffons to J and a new ally will be gained in the fight. I believe that even with the few griffons that will aid you, you'll be able to take The Corruption down. He lost the King and Queen Chrysalis as well. As of now, the changelings still praise him and think of their Queen as a martyr to their lord. The funny thing is that The Corruption only has one changeling hive under his rule. There are multiple hives around the badlands but none are controlled by The Corruption. This means that he had about two hundred changelings willing to give their live for him. I will assume that he will bring the whole hive with him if he plans to attack. This attack will probably be sometime soon for I can feel something dark brewing in the badlands. He is going to make his last stand at this next fight, it is the only option he has left."

Isabel whistled. "A lot sure has happened since that fight last week."

"Indeed it has Isabel." said Gaia. "But that's the cause and effect of The Corruption's actions. I know you'll be successful in your endeavors, all of you." Gaia paused and looked out one of the throne room windows. "I must go now, the griffons are now approaching the castle and I must return to the void. I wish all of you the best of luck."

After Gaia said that she began to fade until the space where she once stood was now empty. J looked up at Celestia who was sitting at her throne looking as surprised as ever.

"Do you believe me now Celestia?" J asked.

Celestia stared at the spot where her long dead sister stood only moment ago and looked to J.

"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner." she said. "I feel like such an idiot for not seeing the truth and all it took was seeing a family member that I thought to be dead for thousands of years." she paused. "To answer your question, yes, I cannot deny the evidence that was just displayed to me. So when the time comes J, you'll have my help."

J nodded. "Thank you Celestia."

Celestia nodded and was about to speak but was interrupted by a guardpony that rushed into the throne room.

"My Princess!" yelled the guard as he bowed quickly. "The Griffon King is here and wishes to have an audience with you immediately."

"Bring him in." she told the guardpony who immediately made his way out of the throne room.

Celestia then looked over at J and motioned him to join her at the throne. J nodded and motioned his own friends to say off to the side as he stood by Celestia's side. All of his friends backed up while Luna and J approached the throne. Luna took a seat at her throne and Celestia at hers. J slightly off to the side and placed his hands behind his back as he awaited the Griffon King's entrance.

After a moment seven large griffons walked into the throne room. Six were decorated in black and yellow armor that covered their head, chest, and wings. The seventh was wearing an ornate set of gold armor that seemed to gleam in the day light that came through the windows. As they approached, the six stopped as the seventh in the ornate armor kept going. J could see them staring at him, as if he were a rare and exotic animal. He ignored the guards and continued to stand at his spot by the thrones.

"King Iron Claw, it is good to see you again. Why is it that you requested an audience with me?" Celestia said as she put on one of her best fake smiles.

"This is a matter of my nations security Princess, I have come to ask for your help." said Iron Claw in a deep, gruff voice.

"What do you require of me Iron Claw?" asked Celestia.

The King began to pace the floor before answering Celestia.

"You see, several weeks ago, I was attacked by some kind of monster. That monster took over my body as I was unable to do anything. A week ago, the monster left for some reason and I was able to escape. Since than I have feared for my life, feared that it would take back over and harm my loved ones. So I come to you Celestia in hopes that you might be able to help me."

Celestia smiled slightly.

"You are in luck Iron Claw, I know of the monster you speak of. You could say that we have had some trouble for the same monster. It calls itself The Corruption and I think we can help you."

"Really!?" yelled Iron Claw in an excited tone. "Tell me, how did you defend yourself against it?"

"Well, you see." began Celestia. "I haven't met this monster yet, in fact, I thought it was fake up until today."

Iron Claw face started to go red. "Then why in the world would you tell me that you could help if haven't even seen this monster!"

"Calm yourself Iron Claw, I may have never seen it before but I know somepony who has." said Celestia with frown on her face.

"Who, point me to this pony." said Iron Claw.

"My Royal Protector J has come into contact with The Corruption on multiple occasions and came out alive. You will want to talk to him."

At that point J slowly began to walk from his spot into the kings sight. Iron Claw backed away in surprise before asking him a question.

"You're J?"

"I am, I believe I can help you King Iron Claw. Celestia was right when she said that I have come into contact with The Corruption. I've even beaten him several times. I believe my latest victory was about a week ago."

The King immediately ignored the fact that he had never seen anything like J and became intrigued."It was you who freed me from that monsters clutches?" asked the king.

"Yes, about a week ago, Queen Chrysalis of the changelings attacked me. I was close to winning when The Corruption decided to intervene in Chrysalis's body but failed in killing me. As a result, you were freed."

"And what do you plan to do about this Corruption?" asked Iron Claw.

"I plan on killing it." J said in a monotone voice.

Iron Claw let out a hardy laugh before returning his sight to J.

"You can count me and my guards here in. I might not know what kind of creature you are J but you're one I'd like to share a drink with some time."

"Same with you King Iron Claw. With that out of the way, I would like to introduce you to my friends that will be helping us rid this world of The Corruption."

J motioned for his friends to come forward.

"At the far right is Shining Armor and Blackout, The captains of the Royal Guards and the Lunar Knights. With them they bring at least fifteen members of each branch. Next to them is Order, Princess Cadance, and Isabel Hawk."

Iron Claw looked at the three Alicorns and chuckled slightly.

"You have five Alicorns in this room J, I only thought there were only three in existence?"

"I think you might know Order better as Discord. As for Isabel, she is my student but she is not from Equestria."

Iron Claw grunted. "Hmm, go on."

"Next to them are Gear and Connor. Gear might be changeling but he' one of the smartest ponies I have ever met. Connor is a different story. He is the same type of creature as me but at the same time, quite different."

"And last but not least we have The Elements of Harmony, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia."

"Hahahaha, you are a force to be reckoned with J." said Iron Claw I could use a creature like you back home. But tell me something J, how are we going to find The Corruption?"

"We don't have to find him." said J. "All we have to do is wait."

* * *

**Here's Chapter 28 for everypony, enjoy!**

**Ok, so I have decided to post something special this Friday. I think that you readers might find what I post to be interesting. I guess we will find out on Friday.**

**Please feel free to review. You know what they say. A well rounded review is the best gift a reader can give to an author.**

**See everypony on Friday and next Thursday.**


	32. Chapter 29

**Update: There will be no chapter next Thursday. Instead, I'm moving it to the Thursday after that and it will be the final chapter.**

* * *

**The Royal Protector**

**Chapter 29**

Three days have passed since Iron Claw joined J in his fight against The Corruption. Everypony had settled in nicely and awaited like J told them. That was the plan, to let The Corruption come to them. It seemed like a perfect plan. However, J wasn't expect one thing. Ever since the griffons showed up, J had received awful nightmares. Not the kind that you wake up from and are glad that it's over. The kind that makes you paranoid that something is going to happen.

The first nightmare was simple, just the image of several bloody bodies flashed in J's head. He woke up and shook it off, it was much like the dreams he always had. The second was only a nightmare filled with various laughs. However, the third night was the worst by far. Instead of the bloody bodies or insane laughs, J heard voices of what sounded like the damned. Before long, a familiar voice sounded out.

"**With my power you are unstoppable, how ****does it**** feel to hold this power?" **asked the voice that was obviously The Corruption.

"I hate it, you make me do things that are both immoral and unjust. I am not that kind of king. You tricked me to get what you wanted!" yelled the other voice.

"**Now, Now Order, don't get angry. Your time to rule is almost over.**"

There was a sound of pain followed by a maniacal, crazed laugh. The laugh faded away and revealed two more voices.

"This is not what I wanted." said a labored voice to J's side. "You promised the power to right the wrongs done to this land."

"**And ****that's**** exactly what I gave you. The power to right the wrongs, and that starts with the citizens of this fair kingdom. Now my little unicorn friend, it's time for you to rule.**"

There was a deep growl before a dark chuckle filled the air. The chuckle soon faded. Soon a loud cry protruded from the black veil that surrounded J's body. The cry then lowered into a sob and finally into a whimper.

"**You now understand why your sister dislikes you but you are worth so much more.**" said The Corruption.

"No, I will not listen to thou anymore. Thou spout lies about thine dearest sister. I will never be loyal to thou and thou will never make me hate Celestia."

"**We'll see about that Luna.**" said The Corruption.

Suddenly, there was total silence, not a sound was made nor was a sound heard. Then, like a flash of lightning, the image of three creature appeared in front of J. The first was Discord, an evil look plastered on his face as he stood with his back turned to a burning town. The second was a unicorn that J had never seen before. He was of gray color with a black flowing mane. He was covered head-to-toe in armor and a kings robe. His horn was a shade of red at the top and energy flowed around his eyes causing a flaming effect. He stood in a field of snow with what looked like a kingdom behind him. The third image was that of Nightmare Moon's. She stood tall as her mane blew in the non-existent wind. Behind her was an eclipse.

J looked at the three images as he tried to make since of what was going on. He thought for a moment before finally coming up with an answer. These three were all effected by The Corruption. Order turned to Discord, the unicorn in the middle who J assumed was King Sombra was taught dark magic, and Luna was morphed into Nightmare Moon because she allowed The Corruption to overtake her. It was a simple explanation but why J having these nightmares. J found his answer when he heard an all too familiar voice speak up.

"**Don't think I have forgotten about you J.**"

There was another flash and another image appeared. It was an image of J with his hood up. Behind him was Canterlot, but instead of it being as it always is, it was on fire. Beside J laid the bodies of his friends including Celestia and Luna. In front of him was another body. The body of his student, Isabel. J looked back at his image self to see that the hood had been pulled down and revealed a set of dark looking eyes and a crazed smile.

"**No one escapes me J, ****accept**** your fate.**"

The image jumped at J and caused everything around him to go dark.

* * *

J was awoken with a jolt, he was drenched in sweat. He leaned forward and placed his head in his hands in an attempt to collect himself. However, his moment of peace was cut short by a sharp knock at the door of his room.

"Come in." J said through his hands. He pulled his head up when he heard the door open to see who was there. Luna walked in a looked over to J

"A good morning to thou J, I wish to speak with you." said Luna.

"Of course Luna." J said as he pointed her to two chairs and a table across the room. The two sat down and started their conversation.

"What did you want to talk about Luna?" asked J as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Well, as thou may know, I am able to look into the dreams of thine subjects and drive away nightmares that plague their dreams. Three nights ago, I sensed that thou were having terrible nightmare and decided to look into the matter. Your night terror did not concern me until last nights terror. Is there something thou would wish to talk about J?"

"You saw all of that last nightmare?" asked J.

Luna nodded slowly. "I am shocked and disturbed that thou would have such dreams. What I am must concerned about is that last scene of the dream, the one that portrayed Canterlot burning and all of us...dead. Then there was that voice that said accept your fate. What do tho...you make of this J?'

J rubbed his face with his hands and looked at Luna with bloodshot eyes.

"Honestly, I think it was a warning about what's to come." There was a pause. "It makes me continuously think that the story of my life is about to come to a close."

Luna sat there with a concerned look on her face and was about to question J's statement but J stopped her.

"I would like it if you didn't dwell on this subject Luna. I would rather not have one nightmare ruin my day."

Luna nodded. "I am also here to tell you that day court is still scheduled for today and that thou art to attend in full uniform."

J groaned. "Even under threat of attack the courts still drag on."

"At least thou doesn't have to do it every night." said Luna as she rolled her eyes at J. "Anyway, I must leave tho... you now, I must rest."

J nodded and watched as Luna walked out. J immediately shot up and began to get dressed. Once dressed he left his room and made his way to the throne room. He entered, approached the throne, and bowed.

"Raise." she said. "Are you ready for day court?"

"I doubt your even ready Princess." J said as he received a sheet of parchment from the scribe present that listed the current court appointments.

"And I never will be." joked Celestia. "You may begin."

J cleared his throat and began to read of the parchment.

"Mr. Gold Bars may now enter the throne room."

The throne room doors opened and in walked one of the most dressed up ponies J had ever seen. He sighed, he could tell it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"And that will conclude court for the day." yelled J as the last pony walked out. He left, J turned to Celestia. "That was unbearable, I don't see how you put up with those nobles."

"I don't even know myself." said Celestia with a sigh. "Would you like to get some lunch J?"

"Of course Princess." J said as he and Celestia exited the throne room. The two quickly made their way to the banquet hall and took a seat at one of the many round tables set up there.

"Is there a reason that these tables are set up?" asked J as the chefs began to roll food over to their table.

"We are having banquet in honor of Iron Claw's stay here at the castle." Celestia said as she eyed the food that was now in front of her.

"A banquet?" said J. "Celestia, you know what's on the horizon don't you."

"Of course I do J, I'm not an idiot. The only ponies attending are ponies from the guard, castle staff, and every other ponies currently in the castle."

J sighed and immediately tried to take his mind off the subject.

'I refuse to let that dream to come to fruition.' said to himself as he began to eat. It looked like Celestia was saying something but J paid no attention.

'Why did I have that dream? What was it's purpose? Was it just a night terror or was it something more, like a premonition. One that told me how it's all going to end.'

J rarely felt fear but something about his dream and the way he could explain it frightened him. He looked up and saw that Celestia was trying to get his attention.

"J, are you alright, you look awful."

J looked at the Princess with his still bloodshot eyes and smiled.

"Of course I'm fine Princess, I just have something on my mind."

J stood up from the table, leaving a plate full of half eaten food. "I sorry Princess but I have something to do that requires my attention. I apologize and I hope we can do this again."

"Of course J, but I expect you at that banquet tonight. I expect you to wear something nice." said Celestia.

"As you wish, I will wear my cloak in the best way possible." J said.

The Princess chuckled slightly and J left the room, he didn't lie, he actually had something that required his attention. He quickly headed back to his room and pulled up a chair to the desk that was against the wall. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and ink. He placed the parchment down on the desk and began to write.

* * *

J looked over the letter and rolled it up into a scroll. He sealed it with his symbol and placed it on the desk. He felt a little better that he wrote the letter but it didn't take the worry off completely, not by a long shot. There was a soft knock at J's door. He walked over and opened it, a guard stood in salute before addressing J.

"The banquet is starting soon, Princess Celestia has asked for your attendance."

"Go tell the Princess that I am on my way, I just have to get ready." said J.

The guard nodded and walked off to inform Celestia. J closed the door and walked back over to the desk and looked at the letter one last time. Once again, he placed it back on the desk and had his way to the banquet.

J had arrived at the banquet and his jaw dropped when he saw how many ponies were there. Celestia was true when she said only those in the castle was attending but she failed to mention the sheer number of ponies that actually worked in the castle itself. The large banquet hall was filled to the brim with guards, maids, workers, you name it. If they were worked there, they were there. Across the banquet hall, J could see his friends and the Princesses at a large square table waving him over to an empty sit. Seeing them, J made his way over to the table and sat in an empty sit next to Celestia and Isabel. As he sat down, Isabel began to snicker.

"What's so funny?" J asked.

"Well you see, Celestia and I made a bet. The bet was if you were one of the first ones to arrive out of our friends, I would make the opening address. But if you were last, you had to make the opener. Let's just say that my lucky streak has yet to dry out."

J looked over to Celestia who was trying to hold in her smile.

"Isabel's right J, have fun and try to keep it simple."

J was about to protest but noticed that every eye in the banquet hall was on him. He perked up and cleared his throat.

"Mares and gentlecolts, I would like to thank everypony here for attending this banquet. We gather this evening in honor of King Iron Claw's visit to Canterlot. I know how hard everypony in this room works and I would like for you all to relax tonight and enjoy."

There was a collective cheer followed by the sound of the chefs and waiters of the kitchen brings everypony there food. J sat back down and looked over at Celestia.

"Wouldn't have been better if you made that address?" J asked.

"Probably, but I lost and you had to make the address. I wasn't about to go back on a bet." joked Celestia.

"At least I can enjoy the banquet." J said as he rolled his eyes.

* * *

J was right, he was quite enjoying the banquet. About half way through, everpony began to walk around and gather in groups. Currently, J found himself in a group of Lunar Knights along with Blackout.

"And that's how I saved J's ass and stopped that manticore from destroying the village single-handy." said Blackout as he finished the story that he's probably already told a million times by now.

"Blackout, your ability to retell a story to the point where it starts to get annoying is incredible. You should consider quitting the Lunar Knights and taking a full time position as a story teller at a tavern." J said mockingly.

The knights around J let out hardy chuckles that left Blackout looking quite flustered.

"How about you name one time you saved my ass J." Blackout said as he tried to look as proud as possible.

"Do you really want to subject yourself to that kind of torture Blackout? If so, I could always tell your knights about that night you had in Manehattan." J said as he shrugged.

Blackout immediately went from a proud look to a frightened look.

"Alright fine, you win. But you will forget about that someday." said Blackout.

"Oh I never forget Blackout." said J as he began to slyly smile.

Blackout began to discuss something with one of the other knights and J's attention was drawn across the banquet hall. He was keeping an eye on both Isabel and Celestia making sure that they didn't get into trouble or cause trouble. They were currently conversing with one of the nobles that lived in the castle, Prince Blueblood. After making sure they were fine, J tried to turn his attention to back to Blackout but something else caught his attention. Over the sound of voice, J could barely hear a faint humming. He tried to ignore it but it keep getting louder and louder until it could no longer be ignored.

"Blackout." J said. "Do you hear that humming?"

The group of Lunar Knights quieted down so Blackout could hear.

"Yeah I can hear it, it's sounds like an insects buzzing."

This stopped J dead in his tracks. He looked down at Blackout as he got the message. He quickly turned to his knights and started to shout out commands.

"I want you five by the entrance, I want everypony in here evacuated. The rest of you are with me and J."

As Blackout finished J was about to get everyponies attention. The sound of glass breaking filled the room.

"Everypony out! Guards, form and protect" J yelled as loud as he could as he, Blackout, and his Lunar Knights made their way to the Princesses.

The castle staff began to rush out of the banquet hall and revealed the black carapace of a very familiar enemy. The Changelings.

"Blackout, take your knights and lead the Princesses to a safe place. I will stay with the guards and help with the changelings."

Blackout nodded as his group continued on to the Princesses who were now surrounded by the Royal Guard ponies. On the inside of the protective circle was all of J's friends.

"The Princesses and Elements need to get to somewhere safe. I'm staying back to help the guards."

"I'm staying too." said Connor.

"No, you need to stay with the Princesses, just in case you run into any problems on the way to someplace safe."

Connor, as much as wanted to stay, nodded and began to lead the Princesses and Elements out of the banquet hall. Once they were out and the Lunar Knight's that were by the entrance secured it, J turned to face his enemy. There were many changelings, a quick count left J somewhere around 50 changelings and roughly 20 guards. While looking over the guards that were currently there, J saw that half of the guards present were a part of The Reapers. J smiled and looked towards the changelings that stood across from the guards. Each side was waiting for the other to make the first move.

'The beginning of the end.' thought J as he slowly pulled out one of his daggers and looked for his first target. He found it and as quick as he could, threw the dagger at the changeling aiming for its throat. It connected and caused that changeling to slump to the floor instantly. With that one action, both sides began to charge into battle.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 29 for everypony. Enjoy!**

**We are so close to the end of this story as well as the 100,000 word mark. So I would have to say that The Royal Protector will be complete by the end of May. **

**See everypony next Thursday.**


	33. Chapter 30

The Royal Protector

Chapter 30

One action caused both sides to leap into action. It was amazing how one little action could cause such a big reaction but right now, that didn't really matter. The changelings and the remaining guards in the banquet hall rushed at one another until they met in the middle. J was in front of the guards and was the first to jump into the battle. The first changeling unfortunate enough to meet J on the battlefield received a swift kick to the face followed by a stomp to the neck. This action didn't faze the changelings at all; they kept coming and gave J no rest. As soon as J dispatched his first changeling, he was surrounded by three others. Their horns began to glow and soon after, three bolts of sickly green energy sped towards J. He simply put his hand up and watched as the energy bolts dissipated against the barrier he had quickly put up. He quickly pulled down the shield and was about to strike back at the three in front of him but he was stopped by the feeling of pain on his right side. J looked and saw that a changeling had charged up to his side and slashed him with a sword conjured by its own magic. J dashed to the left side but the changelings were already on him. There were just so many and not enough guards to defeat them all.

J backed up to dodge the continuous slashes of the changeling's swords. However, J failed to notice the changeling approaching to his right. As the changeling raised his sword, he was hit by a bolt of magic similar to that of the other changelings. This grabbed J's attention as he noticed the changeling and looked for the pony that produced the bolt. J's answer came in the form of a small friend that he had known for quite some time.

"Gear?" J said. "What are you doing here; I thought you left with the others."

"And miss out on this, I don't think so." said Gear with a smirk. "Besides, I think a little heart-to-heart with my former brothers and sisters will do me some good."

Gear didn't skip a beat; he ran past J and hit one of the changelings head on. As it laid there on the ground, Gear put his hoof on its head and pressed down until he heard a satisfying crunch. Other changeling rushed Gear but he was too quick. He sidestepped and watched the changeling trip over the dead body of the first one. Gear managed to catch the changeling with his magic and threw it at the wall at high speeds. J chuckled at the Gear's skill in combat; he hadn't expected the changeling to have the will in him to kill one of his own kin. J returned his attention to the other changelings around him and saw a changeling that was approaching his right. He flipped back and tossed his other dagger. The changeling dropped as J finished his flip. He quickly grabbed the dagger as the next group of changelings decided to attack him. At this point, J was getting annoyed at the sheer number of the changelings even though their numbers were shaved down by about 20 thanks to the other guards.

J clapped his hands together and when he pulled them apart, a line of fire appeared in his hands. He pushed it forward and watched as the changelings in front of it were reduced to ash as the fire hit them. Although the fire took out a good portion, there was still a good bit left and J was starting to get a tad paranoid.

"I'm beginning to think this is nothing but a distraction." he said as he looked at the remaining changelings. "I need to end this quickly; I have to get back to the Princesses."

J held his palm flat and watched as bright yellow energy began to form in his hand. The energy flattened out to the shape of a small dagger. J quickly slid his thumb over the dagger and it revealed several more daggers just like the original. He tossed the daggers forward as hard as he could and watched as the small daggers sped forward and towards the changelings. Once they hit their targets, only a few out of the fifty changelings remained. J looked over to see Gear finishing off the last one around him. Across the hall, J could see that the battle had taken its toll on the guards as well. He could clearly see the outline of several guard bodies on the floor. This saddened J but he knew that their sacrifice wouldn't go in vain. J looked back over to Gear who had begun to kill off the changelings that survived the battle.

"Gear!" J yelled. "I need you to stay here and help the Royal Guards."

All Gear did was nod in response as he continued to examine the bodies on the battlefield. J immediately turned and dashed to the door the Princesses exited out of. The only way they could have gone from there was to the throne room. So J turned and began to run as fast as he could to the throne room.

* * *

Connor did as J asked of him; he took the Princesses and made sure that they were safe. Unfortunately, the only way they were able to go was to the throne room. Connor hated the idea of keeping the Princesses safe there because it was the first place an invader of a castle would go. However, once everypony entered the room, they found it to be empty. Immediately, Connor shut the doors behind them and backed to the thrones.

"Alright, I think it's safe here for now. I don't know how long it's going to stay like that." said Connor.

"As soon as J gets finished with those changelings, we'll be fine." snorted Isabel.

"Ah'm sorry sugarcube but did ya see how many changelin's were out there? There had ta be at least 50 of 'em." stated Applejack.

"Please Applejack; do you really think 50 changelings will slow him down? I've known J long enough to know that an entire army would be able to stop him. He'll be here in no time at all." said Isabel.

"I think that we have bigger problems then discussing J's well-being." said Luna. "If the changelings have attacked Canterlot, then where is The Corruption? Why has he not shown himself to us yet?"

"Those 50 changelings couldn't have been his whole army, there has to be more than that." said Connor.

"There are more." said Celestia. "When Chrysalis and her changelings attacked during Princess Cadance's wedding, she attacked with a force 400 strong, which was her whole hive. However, it isn't the only hive; there are others that are scattered around the badlands. Each hive has their own leader; they aren't united under one ruler. They are each a separate country. The only one to give us trouble was Chrysalis' hive."

"So why are only 50 changelings here? Why not the whole hive?" asked Blackout.

"It sounds like he wants a distraction, not a full on attack." said Twilight as she joined the conversation. "All he would need would be a small distraction to get what he need and leave."

"Do you really think that's what he's trying to do?" asked Order.

"It's the only logical move he could make against us. The only other thing he could do would attack with the whole hive."

"The question is, is that what's actually going on?" questioned Cadance.

As Cadance finished her statement, the throne room doors began to open. In response, Connor, Shining, and Blackout prepared themselves for what was about to come through and stood in front of the others. The door opened wider to reveal that Iron Claw and his guards were at the door. The others relaxed but the assassin stayed cautious. Something was off, Iron Claw was at that banquet, but Connor didn't see him leave. As a matter of fact, Connor doesn't didn't remember seeing him before the changelings attacked. Pushing this information to the side, Connor looked over the griffon and his guards carefully. None of them had a single scratch on them but they were covered in blood. But the blood was red, not green like changelings had.

"Iron Claw, where have you been?" asked Connor.

"We got caught up in the changelings; we had to fight our way here. You could say that we swam in the blood of our enemies" said Iron Claw with a slight laugh.

"Where did you fight them?" asked Connor.

"Connor, I don't see why that's relevant." said Order. Connor simply looked back and gave him a look that said be quiet. Connor looked back and asked his question again.

"Where did you fight them?"

"On the way here, we were in the library and came straight here."

"How did you know we were here?" asked Connor

"J told us, we ran into him on our way here." said Iron Claw.

'Gotcha.' Connor said mentally.

"We never told J where we were going, he just said to go somewhere safe. So tell me Iron Claw, whose side are you on?"

"Why you, how dare you accuse me of treason. I want to help you not oppose you!" yelled Iron Claw.

"Connor's right Iron Claw." said Order. "The evidence weights against you greatly. The library is on the other side of the castle, there's no way you went to the banquet hall from there. Also that blood you are covered in, it's not changeling blood. Changeling blood is green not red. Considering that neither you nor your guards look injured I would say you ran into some trouble alright. Trouble from Celestia's guard that is."

Iron Claw back away a bit, he looked nervous. He did the one thing he knew how to do, fight. He looked back at his guards; they gave him the same nervous stare he was wearing. Iron Claw nodded and his guards launched in action. The first of the guards ran at Connor with his wings full spread. Connor reacted by running at the griffon and pulling out a knife. Right before they reached each other, Connor slid onto his back and went straight under the griffon to engage the one behind it in combat.

The first griffon looked back with an annoyed looked and decided to keep going. He was so close to reaching the princesses but felt as if he was floating off the ground. He looked to his right to see the red Alicorn from before. He was shaking his head.

"So close yet so far away. Oh well, at least you tried."

"What are you talk..." said the griffon before the aura around him closed in to the size of a marble. Order smiled and released the now liquid remains of the griffon.

Connor had begun his fight with the second griffon, which was an incredibly one sided fight. All of Connor's training with The White Circle had it almost impossible for the griffon to hit him. Combined that with the weapon in his hand, Connor was easily winning. He decided to finish the guard off and quickly dispatched him with a slash to the throat. Connor took this moment to look back and check on the Princesses. He saw that Order was handling any of the griffons that were getting close. Connor turned back and saw the prize, Iron Claw was unguarded, and his guards were either dead or off to the side and were not quick enough to save him. Connor shot forward, he kept his eyes firmly on Iron Claw. He wasn't going to kill him; he was going to make him answer for his crimes.

As Connor approached Iron Claw jumped forward and pulled his knife back to strike. As he pulled the knife forward, one of the guards who appeared out of nowhere, took the hit for Iron Claw. This resulted in the griffon's death as the blood began to spill from the wound on his neck. Connor silently cursed the griffon as he pushed the griffon over in effort to get to Iron Claw. Big mistake.

As soon as Connor pushed the griffon over and got a set of talons to the face. He recoiled in pain as he tried to back away from Iron Claw as much as possible. He could feel the blood starting to pour down his face from the deep cuts. Luckily enough, the attack missed Connor's eyes.

"You're smart Connor but your attention seems to wander easily." said Iron Claw. "But you see, this is just the beginning, the changelings were just a distraction so I could get to the real prize. But you know, they funniest thing was that you actually believed me when I first arrived at the castle. I honestly thought you would kick me out but you didn't, your mistake."

"What are you talking about?" asked Connor as he continued to back away.

"Gaia wasn't even able to detect me in this body, so you could say that **she condemned you from the start of this little ordeal.**" Iron Claw's voice deepened, his eye turned pitch black. "**I was here all along planning against your own plans. When Celestia scheduled that little banquet, I decided that would be my best chance to strike. **

"You were in Iron Claw's body the whole time?!" yelled Celestia.

"**From the very beginning and now that my plan has gone off without a hitch, I have you all to my own. No distractions and no J to save you."**

Iron Claw began to slowly advance on the ponies but was stopped by the sound of the throne room doors opening and the pain of a blade.

* * *

J swiftly made his way down the long hallway to the throne room. The thought that the safety of the Princesses and Isabel pushed him even further. As he approached the throne room doors, something in his gut was telling him that something was wrong. He chose to follow this paranoid assumption and got closer to the doors to listen for any signs of trouble.

"Gaia wasn't even able to detect me in this body, so you could say that **she condemned you from the start of this little ordeal.**"

J pulled back in surprise when he heard that said. It sounded like Iron Claw and The Corruption was in there. That only meant one thing; he has a host body again.

"You were in Iron Claw's body the whole time?!" yelled a voice that was clearly Celestia's

"**From the very beginning and now that my plan has gone off without a hitch, I have you all to my own. No distractions and no J to save you."**

J had heard enough, it was time for action. He stepped back and rammed into the doors causing them to swing open. J immediately pulled out his dagger and threw it at the king in front of him. It hit its mark and dug into the space behind Iron Claw's right wing. J then went for his other dagger but swore silently when he found the holster empty. He had left it the banquet hall and forgot to get it on his way out.

At this point, Iron Claw turned to meet his attacker. His eyes full of malice and hate.

"**Just the man I wanted to see. Looks like my little distraction was no match for you. I hoped that you would have been occupied just a little longer but what could you expect from the changelings.**"

J didn't answer the king; he just reached to his back and pulled out Light's Edge.

"**You still think you can win? Even though that black fire was really something, it won't save you, neither will your sword. It might be special but while I'm in this body, that sword is just a sword, nothing more nothing less. You might as well give up now because when I start there's no stop..." **

The Corruption's sentence came to a halt as blood began to trickle out of his mouth. The griffon's eyes glazed over and he fell revealing Connor holding a bloody dagger with one hand and his face with the other.

"You talk too much." Connor said as he wiped the blood off of his dagger.

"You could have done that earlier." said Order as he approached the assassin.

"I wanted it to be dramatic." said Connor.

J rolled his eyes at the assassin and approached the dead body. Blood was spilling from a stab wound on the back of his head causing a red pool to form on the stone floor. The only question was where did The Corruption go?

"At least it's over now." Connor said as he prodded the dead body with his foot.

"It's far from over." J said as he began to look around.

The Corruption was still here, J could feel it. He was hiding, waiting to get the drop on the group. Suddenly, the throne room began to shake violently. It felt as if an earthquake was happening right under their feet, a violent one at that. Suddenly it stopped, just as fast as it started, and J could feel something shifting under the floor. He immediately grabbed Connor and pulled him out of the way as huge black spikes shot up from the ground around the body.

J let go of Connor and the two turned towards the spikes. They readied their weapons; not knowing what would happen next for their enemy was unpredictable. The spikes lowered, and in the place of Iron Claw's body, stood a shadowy bipedal figure. A sickly laugh filled the air.

"**I have to admit J, from the moment you met those unicorns in the Everfree, I thought you wouldn't be a problem. Now it seems that I was wrong and something must be done."**

"You can try and do something but no matter what happens, today will end in your defeat." said J as he pointed his sword at The Corruption.

"**I've lived for centuries, fighting some of the most powerful beings in the world and succeeding. You are one creature with an extensive knowledge of magic. You are like every creature I have faced and soon you will join them in the afterlife.**"

J readied his sword and steadied himself. Connor removed his hand from his face and readied his weapon. Order shifted on his hooves and charged his magic. His body was covered in magic before in flickered and disappeared. The three were ready; they were ready for the end. J looked back momentarily and saw that Shining Armor and Blackout had backed the Princesses and the Elements to the far wall in an attempt to stay out of the battle. He focused on Celestia and formed a magic link in between their minds. It was quite a useful spell and J was grateful that Celestia had taught it to him.

'Princess, can you hear me?' asked J through his thoughts.

'Yes I can hear you J.' replied Celestia.

'I need you to get Twilight and her friends ready to use the Elements on my command.'

J didn't get a reply; he could see Celestia nod before the connection between the two was broken. J, finished with his conversation, turned back to The Corruption.

Everything remained still, as if each side was too afraid to make a move. At that moment J decided that he would start it, that he would start the battle that would decide the fate of Equestria. He lifted his foot and hit the stone floor as hard as he could. The floor cracked and that crack traveled until it reached The Corruption. Large spikes erupted from the floor and simple passed through The Corruption. However, this was enough time for J, Connor, and Order to jump into action.

The three approached as The Corruption emerged from the stony spikes. J lunged forward and thrusted his sword. The Corruption simply stood there as the sword passed through him. J was able to pull back before a tendril that The Corruption produced grabbed a hold of him. J stood back and began to focus his magic into his sword, causing it to glow with a white aura. J looked back to the battle to see that one of the tendrils grabbed Connor by the arm. J rushed forward and sliced the tendril off with his sword.

The Corruption howled in pain. "**I'll make sure that I cut off each of your limbs with that sword.**"

The Corruption was barely able to get that sentence out for J brought the sword back around and sliced The Corruption's leg. He let loose another scream of pain and let loose a blast of magic that caused the three assaulting him to be pushed back.

As J was pushed back, he looked over to Twilight

"Do it now!" he yelled.

Twilight, who was now wearing her element, nodded and readied her. She looked back at her friends and nodded. The six closed their eye and each of their necklaces began to glow. Suddenly, Twilight opened her eyes, which were now pure white, and a rainbow blast shot out from the group. The Corruption, who was still recovering from the wound that J had inflicted, looked up to see a rainbow blast head straight for him. He knew what spawned such an intense blast of magic; it was the Elements of Harmony. He knew the power that it held and he tried his best to move out of the way but he was too slow. The rainbow hit him, wrapped around him, and bathed the room in a bright light.

Once the light had cleared, J looked over to see that The Corruption was still there but something was different. He was not covered in shadows anymore and there knelled a black figure adorned in a cloak that covered his face. The Corruption stood up and growled lightly.

"**You might have stripped away my shadows but you will still lose this fight.**"

The Corruption then held out his right hand and magic began to collect. It then began to form into a sword that equaled the length of J's. After this J wasted no time, he dashed forward and threw a powerful right slice at The Corruption. The Corruption pulled up his sword and blocked the slice. The two pushed at their swords hoping to push the other back. Connor, who followed J, jumped out to the left of The Corruption and tried to stab with his knife. The Corruption saw this and pushed J's sword off and stepped back to dodge the stab. The Corruption then swung his sword at Connor's legs but it was dodged when Connor flipped back. Connor then landed on his back and swept The Corruption's feet out from under him causing him to fall on his face. Taking this opportunity, J swung his sword around and aimed it at the ground. The Corruption saw this and was able to roll out of the way as the sword stabbed into the ground.

As The Corruption finished his rolled and stood up, he was hit by another force that wasn't J or Connor. Orders had come up from behind and bucked The Corruption with his magic covered hooves. This sent The Corruption spiraling to the ground. Once he hit the ground, The Corruption became motionless. Order and Connor, who were closest, approached the body to see if the battle had been won. This was a mistake, as they stood next to the motionless body; The Corruption sprang into action and sent Connor and Order flying to the back wall right next to the Princesses.

J looked back to make sure his friends were okay, once he saw both Connor and Order recover but a little disoriented, J was relived. He looked back to see that only he and The Corruption remained at that he had recovered for the buck Order gave him. The Corruption was on J before he realized it. J was barely able to dodge the slash that The Corruption aimed for him. J stepped back and quickly formed a link back to Celestia.

'Princess, I need you to do something." said J as he block The Corruption's sword.

'What do you need from me J?' asked Celestia.

'I need for you, Luna, Cadance, and Isabel to get around us and put up the best barrier you can.' he said as he parried another attack and sliced with little success.

'Why are you locking yourself in with it?' asked Celestia.

"Because I'm going to end this and if there isn't a barrier around us when I do it, it will probably kill every pony in this castle.' said J.

Without waiting for a reply, J cut the link and continued blocking and attacking The Corruption. After a minute or two, J saw a large magic dome form over the two locking them in.

"**You have just sealed your fate**." said The Corruption as he started to run at J with his sword pointed forward.

"No." J said as he lowered his sword. "Not just me, but you too."

The Corruption closed in fast; it seemed like time slowed down as J watched as The Corruption stabbed his sword into J's stomach. The Corruption stood there with a grin on his face.

"**And now you fall, like so many before you.**"

"It's not just me this time." said J as he grabbed The Corruption with his right hand and held his left hand in between them. A small black flame flickered to life in J's hand and slowly began to grow in size. The look of horror on The Corruption's face was evident. He tried to pull away from J but his grip was too tight. J smiled.

"What will I sacrifice for the ones that I love and protect? I would give life and much more."

The Corruption began to panic as the flame grew bigger and bigger until it was close to his face.

"Let's go say hello to Gaia shall we?" said J as he closed his hand on the flame. It then exploded into a great fireball that was limited in size by the barrier that was keeping it from destroying the castle.

On the other side of the barrier, Isabel watched in horror as her teacher sacrificed himself to defeat The Corruption. It seemed like hours before the black fireball died down and all Isabel could do was stare in horror and shock. J was no longer stand where he was, neither was The Corruption. The only thing that still remained was J's sword Light's Edge. Isabel slumped down and burst into tears. She had known J for a long time now, at times he even felt like a father to her and that hurt her even more.

The others weren't faring any better. Blackout just stared with a destroyed look on his face. Twilight was already in tears while her friends, Shining, and Cadance tried to comfort her. Rainbow Dash stood there with tears streaming down her face. In her mind she was constantly replaying the conversation she and J had during his first visit to Ponyville. Celestia immediately sat down, the outcome of the fight was too much for her and she could barely believe that J was gone. Luna tried her best console her sister be she too was incredibly saddened. Order and Connor did not react like the others; they both walked out into the middle of the room and picked up J's sword. Connor took out some cloth that he had and carefully wrapped the sword in it. Together, Connor and Order went over to Isabel and laid the sword at her feet.

This caused her to stop crying as she picked up the sword. She simply looked it over, turned, and began to walk out of the throne room.

* * *

**Epilogue**

The funeral was held in the Royal Gardens in front of a new finished statue of J. Thousands of ponies attended, every Royal Guard and Lunar Knight was present along with a majority of the nobles. Isabel went to the statue and addressed the crowd; she wanted to keep it short.

"We are all here today to pay our respect to J, The Royal Procter of Equestria and my beloved teacher. He sacrificed himself on the field of battle so that Equestria might be a safer place for everypony and safer it has become. Because of his sacrifice, a great enemy was defeated and order restored. I can't begin to tell everypony how much I miss him right now. I've known him for a long time and at times he felt like a father to me."

Isabel paused to collect herself before continuing.

"So today I say goodbye to my teacher, my friend, and hope that his journey to the afterlife is an easy one."

Isabel then pulled J's sword up to her and removed the cloth. She turned and dug the sword into the ground. She then focused her magic on it so that it could never be moved. After this she simply walked back to the castle.

After the funeral, many ponies came to visit the statue and sword. Twilight Sparkle visited every now and then to tell the statue stories about the things she was learning about friendship. Over time, she visited the statue of a Princess. Rainbow Dash came to visit to introduce her new daughter Scootaloo, to the statue, thanking it for helping her see what was right. Every morning Shining Armor and Blackout both have a moment of silence in front of the statue before starting the day. Every day around mid-day Princess Celestia would visit and every night Princess Luna would visit to pay their respects. Connor would occasionally visit to make sure that the sword was fine and the statue was not falling to disrepair. Isabel rarely visited the statue; it hurt her to see it. She constantly tried to block the thought of her mentor out.

Today was a regular day; Celestia had glided down to the statue to pay her respects. After five minutes of sitting there, she heard somepony walking up behind her. She turned to see Order standing behind her.

"Hello Order, what brings you out to the gardens today." said Celestia in a regal voice.

"I came to both tell you and give you something." he said as a letter floated over to Celestia and dropped in front of her.

"This letter is from J and is addressed to you Princess. I recently found it after going through some of his old tomes."

The scroll was rolled tightly and bound with J's symbol. Celestia looked back to Order.

"What do you have to tell me?" she asked.

"My time in Equestria is over, I do not belong here. My time to rule is long gone. So after we talk, I am ascending to the void so I can help Gaia with whatever she needs."

Celestia was going to say something but Order had already begun to walk away.

"Order!" she called out.

The Alicorn turned around. "Yes?"

"I forgive you, for everything." she said.

There was a pause. Order smiled.

"Thank you Celestia, it relives me to know that."

Order turned back around and continued to walk until he was no longer in Celestia sight. She turned back around and pulled the scroll up to her. Carefully, she undid the seal.

_Dear Princess Celestia_

_As I write this, I know that the end of life is close at hand. I wanted to write this to tell you not to worry for me. I know what must be done and I will do it. It's my job if I remember correctly, it's why I'm called Royal Protector, it's why I've been called that for centuries. For some reason though, I don't care that my end is near, I'm not worried or saddened. Something about Equestria makes me happy, like the paradise that I always wanted but could never have. But even paradises are plagued with evil and I am going to rid this one of its biggest one. So don't be sad, be happy, don't cry, just cheer. And know this, wherever I am now, I will always look back and remember the good times I had_

_Sincerely,_

_J_

Celestia rolled the scroll back up and looked at the statue. She smiled.

"Thank you J, thank you for everything."

* * *

It was black, that's all I could see. Then I opened my eyes and saw everything. I was back where I had started, I was back in the Everfree Forest.

* * *

**And we are done with the story, enjoy the last chapter!**

**I am very happy that I finished this story. At first I thought that this story would end up not being finished because no one would like it. I guess I was wrong. **

**That last part is a teaser. There will be a sequel to this story. I will have some information about it on my profile around mid-summer. **

**Lastly, I would like to thank everybody that read this story, reviewed it, followed it, and added it to their favorites. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably would have never finished it. Thanks for everything and have a great summer!**


	34. TRP Bonus Chapter 3

**A/N: This takes place right after J finds the sword in the Frozen Wastelands north of Stalliongrad. This is not another chapter, just a bonus story.**

* * *

**The Royal Protector**

**Bonus chapter 3**

Life in Canterlot was... boring to say the least. The shops were dull, the restaurants too overpriced, and its citizens too snobby. But that was in the town, in the castle was different. Every day was a new adventure. One day you could visit the library and learn about the history of Equestria. The other day you could visit the statue garden and learn a different history. Today was one of those days for J; he was currently walking the statue gardens with Shining Armor and Blackout. The three had become close friends since J had returned from his first job for Princess Celestia.

At the moment, the three were discussing past event that the three had participated in.

"Then that hag was launched out of Canterlot and back to where she belonged." said Shining as he finished his story.

Blackout frowned. "You always use that one when we discuss stuff like this. There is no way anypony in the guard can top that, it's not fair."

"You're just going to have to suck it up Blackout." Shining said in a sarcastic voice.

Blackout quieted down for a few moments before a smile appeared on his face.

"I bet J has a better story than the story about your wedding Shining." he said.

Shining looked over to J who was walking beside them with a questioning look.

"Do you?" he asked.

J looked up in thought as he tried to think of some that could top Shining's story. Pretty much every event in J's life could top that story but J wanted something that would both top it and bring Shining down a notch. Simply because it would be funny to see so. J thought a little more before a smile crossed his face.

"I have the perfect story." he said. "I can't quite remember the date but this occurred in a country named Greece. A man that went by Draco was very popular for creating a list of laws. From a public view, these laws seemed to be the one thing Greece needed to be a perfect country. However, if one were to look at these laws closely, they would notice small things that quite literally screwed over the less fortunate. So, with the help of my some of my friends, we were able to convince Draco to appear before an audience and read out his laws. He did so, and the crowd loved it, but there was one tradition back then. If the audience truly loved a performance, they would throw their hats and coats at the performer. It just so happened that 3/4th of the audience in attendance were people that noticed those little things in Draco's laws. So after he finished, that 3/4th threw their coats which were all filled with lumps of coal. The weight of the coats was enough to knock him down as he was covered by more coats. Eventually, he was suffocated by the coats and died on the spot thus giving us the chance to rewrite his laws for the good of everybody."

Once J finished his long winded story, Shining looked over to Blackout.

"You call my stories unfair, I doubt Princess Celestia could top J's"

Blackout and J let out loud chuckles as they continued through the gardens. The chuckles came to an end when one of Princess Luna's Lunar Knights approached the three. Blackout was the first to notice.

"Pardon me for interrupting but Princess Luna requires J and Captain Blackout in the throne room."

Blackout looked back to J and then to the Lunar Knight.

"Thank you, you may return to your post."

The knight nodded and walked off. Blackout turned around and shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea what this is about but we better go. I'd rather not get on Princess Luna's bad side."

J nodded in agreement and began to follow Blackout out of the gardens. He turned and yelled back at Shining.

"We'll continue this conversation another time Shining. I'm sure you can come up with a better story by then."

J could see Shining roll his eyes as he turned back towards Blackout as the two exited the gardens and entered the castle. Once inside, the two immediately went to the throne room and entered. As the two approached the throne, the kneeled before being told by Luna to rise. The rose and Blackout was the first speak.

"What do you require from us Princess?" he asked.

"Tis a very important matter my dear Blackout" she said. "We have been getting some reports of strange animal activity in a small village south of here, right on the edge of the Everfree Forest. The reports state that the animals are attacking the village and causing major damage to property. We were going to send several Lunar Knights to deal with this problem but we halted that action when we received another report from the town. This report said that it was Manticores that were attacking the village. As described by the mayor of the village, the Manticores gave off large magical signatures. This is bad; it means somepony is messing with the forest animals. I would like the two of you to head to this village and try to help them in any way possible."

"We will do our best to get to the bottom of this, Princess Luna." said Blackout as he bowed again.

"Most excellent!" yelled Luna in an excited voice. "I have already arranged transportation for you two. There is a wagon waiting for you two outside the castle. I wish thee luck on this endeavor."

The two bowed once more before leaving the throne room and exiting the castle. Outside, there was a wagon just like Luna had said. At the front, two Lunar Knight were hooked up to the reigns.

"How far away is this village?" J asked

"Hour by foot, thirty by wagon, you ready to go?" one of the stallion asked.

J nodded as he and Blackout entered the wagon and seated themselves across from one another. The wagon started and the two were off.

* * *

The knight was right about the trip, about thirty minutes in; they had arrived at the village. The two exited the carriage and J thanked the driver.

"The wagon will be back by early morning." he said as the two Lunar Knight turned the wagon around and headed back to Canterlot.

"Well." said Blackout. "That was a fun ride. I guess we should get to it then."

"Let's" J said as he and Blackout began to walk through the village.

It was a small village, much like Ponyville but a little smaller. There were small shops and stores that lined the streets. There was only one problem, nopony was to be seen.

"I wonder where everypony is?" asked Blackout. "You don't think they're hiding from us, do you?"

Before J could answer, a loud sheik could be heard on a nearby street. The two looked at each other and made their way to where they thought the sound originated. As they came upon the street where they had heard the scream, J caught sight of a huge creature as it was clawing at a space between the buildings that was too big for it.

"My guess is that they're hiding from that." J said as he began to study the beast a bit more.

It was easily twice as large as J himself with wings that were easily as big as he was. Instead of having a tail like most animals, this creature's tail was replaced with a scorpion's stinger. As if it wasn't terrifying enough.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that beast is a manticore." J said as he looked down to Blackout.

Blackout nodded. "You are 100% correct, any ideas before whatever it's attacking gets turned into its food?"

J thought momentarily before nodding his head.

"I'll get its attention, you go get whoever is trapped back there and take them into one of the nearby buildings. After you've done that, I'll put this thing down."

"Alright." said Blackout as he shot into the night sky.

J then turned his attention to the manticore and pulled out one of his daggers. He flipped it several times in his hand before rearing back and launching it towards the beast. It hit spot on, right behind the creature's left wing. The manticore roar in pain and turned its attention towards J.

"Come and get me." J taunted as he readied himself for the creatures charge.

The manticore snorted and began to charge at J. Many would have already moved but J stood his ground, he was waiting for the right moment. That moment came when the manticore was barely ten feet away from him. J dodged to the right just as one of the creatures claws came slashing down. J recovered from his dodge and looked back towards the alleyway. He saw Blackout as he led a young mare out of the ally and inside a building nearby. J smiled and turned to see the manticore charging again. This time, J began to focus his magic into his right hand instead of dodging. As the manticore got close again, J pushed his hand into the ground and was able to dodge just before the claw caught him.

"Gotcha." J said lightly as he held his hand out in front of him. Before the manticore could charge again, J raised his hand quickly and a large spike made of stone exploded form the earth, impaling the manticore several feet above the ground. The beast gave one more roar of pain before its movements became less and less until it moved no more. J made sure that the beast was dead as he grabbed his dagger from the monsters body. Once it was confirmed dead, J lowered the spike and watched as the beasts body fell lifelessly to the ground.

After a minute, J turned around and yelled into the night air.

"It's same to come out; the manticore is no longer a problem!"

It was quite for a moment, suddenly a door to the house Blackout took the mare into opened. Out came Blackout and the mare. Then another door opened and another and another. The night air was filled with the sound of doors opening.

"You took that thing out pretty quick J, you may color me impressed." said Blackout as he joined J's side.

"It was a wild beast, it wasn't that hard to kill." he said as he started to notice the ponies surrounding the manticore's dead body.

Suddenly a pony jumped in front of him with a smile on his face.

"I don't know what you are and I don't care. Thank you for killing that manticore. I can't begin to explain how much trouble they've been causing. It's good to see that the Princesses finally got our letters."

"You are quite welcome." J said. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you exactly?"

"My name's Mayor White and welcome to town of Hoofington. I assume you were told about what has been happening?" the mayor asked.

"We have, I have one question though. One of the letters said something about the manticores attacking the town had a magical signature. I was wondering what that was about."

The mayor sighed. "We have yet to figure that out yet. The manticore attacks have been picking up more and more for the last few days. The only thing I can tell you is to go find a unicorn named Zoo. He lived in this town and was an expert on the creatures of the Everfree. About two or three months ago, he set up a small camp not too far into the Everfree so he could study the creatures. Once the manticores began to attack, we tried to get to his camp site but the manticores kept chasing us out of the forest. If you can find Zoo, he might be able to help you with the problem at hoof and he might be able to deduce this magical signature around the manticores."

"Thank you, Blackout and I will go check out this camp site."

The mayor nodded his head and watched as J and Blackout walked to the edge of the Everfree.

"Should we really go into the Everfree at night?" asked Blackout. "It doesn't really seem like a good idea."

"Nonsense Blackout, it's just an uncontrollable forest with magical properties and numerous creature that could either destroy a whole town or shallow a pony whole, or both." J said jokingly. "You heard what the mayor said; the camp site isn't that far into the forest, we'll be fine."

Blackout groaned nervously but continued to follow J as the two entered the forest and navigate the thick plants. After several minutes of walking, the two came upon a small clearing with a tent and fire pit on the other side.

"Looks like we found the camp site." said J as he examined the fire pit. "A fire was recently put out, looks like Zoo is around here somewhere. Let's look around just in case."

The two split up and began to look around the camp site for any clues on where Zoo went. J approached the tent that was Zoo's makeshift home and inspected it. It was an ordinary tent except for one thing that caught J's eye. It was a black book bound by a neatly tied string. J grabbed the book and called over to Blackout.

"I found something!" he yelled as he waited for Blackout to make his way over to him.

"Whatcha find?" Blackout asked.

"It's a book of some kind." he said as he unstrung it and opened it up. "It's a journal."

"What's it say?" asked Blackout.

J cleared his throat and began to read.

* * *

**Day 1**

**My first day in the Everfree was very eventful, I was able to gather several samples of the fauna especially some flowers of poison joke. I am determined to discover the mysteries of this forest as well as extensively studying the wild life.**

**Day 12**

**I have now fully turned my attention to the Manticore. This large beast is very volatile and territorial with an appetite to match. I have stopped all other research so that I may give all my attention to this magnificent creature. **

**Day 31 **

**Today I found something interesting. While exploring the depths of the forest, I came across a small abandoned hut. Inside was a single item, a scroll. Once I got back to my camp site and examined the scroll, I found out it was a spell that allowed the caster to talk with the animals. There seems to be another part to the scroll and I am working on reading it as well. **

**Day 32**

**This is unbelievable, that second part of the scroll was another spell that allows the caster to control the animal it's communicating with. I will head out to try these spells out.**

**Day 33**

**I finally found a Manticore and used the first spell on it. At first it was surprised that I could understand it and then started to berate me. The reason being that ponies have be nothing but trouble for the Manticores. Before the Manticore could harm me, I cast the second spell and he was under my control. With some quick thinking, I told him to bring as many Manticores as he could find back to the camp site. After an hour of waiting, he brought back five other Manticores. I cast the same two spells and I now have six Manticore under my control. This is getting most interesting. **

**Day 45**

**The Manticore tells me how despicable the pony society is. Maybe I should do something about it.**

**Day 50**

**Forget the research, forget everything. I want blood, my precious Manticore demand it. I will give it to them. **

**Day 51**

**Burned that scroll today, now nopony will be able to learn the secret of my power. I send my Manticores to attack Hoofington. They deserve everything that's coming. **

**Day 65**

**Some beast just killed one of my precious Manticore. It will pay, Hoofington will pay. We attack at dawn.**

* * *

"That's the last entry." J said as he closed the journal.

"We should probably get back to Hoofington J." said Blackout as he pointed to several reddish streaks in the sky. "The sun's starting to rise."

J nodded and took off running for Hoofington with Blackout close behind him. As they got closer and closer to the town, they could hear crashes and screams. As they exited the forest, the two could easily see the five Manticore that the journal mentioned along with a green unicorn with a brown mane.

"Plan?" asked Blackout as he landed next to J.

"Take Zoo alive, the Manticore need to be put down." said J as he began to run at the beasts.

Before he reached the Manticores, Zoo turned to see J running at them.

"There's the beast that killed one of your brothers. Kill him and feast!"

Suddenly, all six Manticore turned from what they were doing and began to rush J. Quickly; J formed a barrier around himself as the Manticore pounced. They charged the shield and slashed at it in an attempt to break it. On the inside, J was struggling to keep the barrier up.

"Blackout, I would appreciate some help!" he yelled.

Blackout nodded and launched himself into the air and dove and one of the Manticore. Right before his hit the Manticore, he turned and delivered a powerful buck the side of the beast's face. The beast stumbled and fell into the Manticore beside it. This opened up a spot for J to escape. He pulled the barrier down and rolled away from the Manticore. He backed up as far as he could and pulled his daggers out.

Hey Blackout, catch!" he yelled as he tossed a dagger straight up to Blackout. He caught the dagger in his mouth and looked at J questioningly.

"Aim for the back of their necks!" he yelled as he threw his dagger at the nearest one. The dagger buried itself into the Manticore's front leg causing the beast to kneel down. Blackout jumped into action and flew behind the creature. He delivered a well-placed slash to the creature's neck. J then dashed forward and pulled out the sword he had found up north. He approached the Manticore and drove the sword into the neck of the beast ending its life.

"One down!" J yelled as he pulled his dagger out of the Manticore's leg.

"You will pay for that you ignorant beast." yelled Zoo. "My Manticores will rip you open!"

One of the Manticore began to charge but made no contact because J rolled to the side before it could touch him. However, J didn't see the other Manticore behind the first. It was too late to do anything as the Manticore pulled J to the ground and pinned him to the ground.

"Feed my Manticore!" Zoo yelled as the beast readied its claws.

J watched as the beast raised its claw and watched as Blackout flew straight into the Manticore as he shoved J's dagger into its eye. The Manticore fell over instantly.

"That was a close call." said Blackout.

"Yeah" J said as he pulled himself up. "Thanks for... shit watch out!" J yelled as he pulled Blackout out of the way of another Manticore's charge.

J placed Blackout down and ran at the Manticore that charged the two. The beast noticed this and began to charge as well. Just as the two were about to meet, J slide under the Manticore and placed his hand on its underside as a large pillar made of fire shot from his hand and through the Manticore. J was able to get out from under the beast before it fell to the ground.

"Two left." he said to himself as he turned to the last two Manticore.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?" Zoo yelled.

J didn't answer the unicorn; instead, he began to walk towards him. This caused one of the last two Manticore to charge at J. J readied his sword and waited for the Manticore to get closer before him thrusted his sword at the beast. His sword made contact with the beast chest and pierced its heart. The Manticore's eyes glazed over and fell over. Zoo started to panic as the J pulled his sword out of the Manticore and began to walk towards him. He turned and began to run for the forest.

"Blackout!" he yelled.

"I got it." he replied as he chased after Zoo and tackled him to the ground. Blackout stood back up and brought his hoof down on Zoo's face knocking him out.

The last Manticore turned towards Blackout and roared. He readied himself to charge but stopped when one of J's daggers buried itself in its side. The Manticore turned and roared at J before rushing over to him. As the Manticore approached J, it lowered down and its tail shot forward. However, it missed and struck the ground. J slashed forward and cut the beast's tail off. The Manticore reared back and roared in pain, bad mistake. J took this opportunity to get under the beast and proceeded to run his sword the entire length of the beast's body.

As J pulled away, blood began to spill form the beast's underside. In an instant, the beast fell to the ground, its whole underside cut open. J stood up and looked for Blackout. He found Blackout, who was dragging the unconscious Zoo over to J.

"That takes care of that." Blackout said with a huff. "I think were done here."

"I think so." said J as he saw the mayor approach the two.

"Thank you two so much, I don't know what we would have done without you two. Don't worry about the Manticore bodies, we'll dispose of them. Just tell me something, what did Zoo have to do with this?" asked Mayor White.

"Zoo had found an object in the forest that allowed him to control the Manticores. Sadly, he just went mad with power." J said.

"Oh." said the Mayor. "I would have never thought he would be capable of something like that."

"You'll be surprised at what some ponies are capable of Mayor White." J said with a smile. "Now, we must take Zoo to Canterlot. He'll have a lot of explaining to do."

"Of course of course." he said. "If you two are ever in the area again, come by to visit."

"I'll be sure to make time for that." J said as he collected the unconscious pony and began to look for their wagon. They found the wagon but instead of Lunar Knight, there were Royal Guards attached to it.

J greeted the guards and climbed into the wagon as they made their way back to Canterlot.

* * *

J, Shining, and Blackout were sitting in the Officer's barrack discussing the recent event while drinking.

"Wow." Shining said. "That's pretty crazy that you two were able to take down six Manticore in the span of several hours. I can see it now, J the Manticore slayer and that pegasus named Blackout."

"Hey, I helped!" Blackout yelled from across the table as he took a sip for his cup.

"It's true Shining, if it wasn't for Blackout, I would have been injured greatly." said J.

"I have to say J, you are one excellent fighter." said Blackout.

"I couldn't have done it without you Blackout." J said with a smile on his face.

The three friends lifted their cups and began to drink the night away.

* * *

**I hoped you enjoyed that Bonus Chapter!**

**Basically, I've had several PM's and a review asking for a couple more bonus chapters so here one. I'll be doing one more about J's involvement in the riots of Manehatten. That one will be posted next Thursday. **

**See everypony next Thursday!**


	35. TRP Bonus Chapter 4

**The Royal Protector**

**Bonus Chapter 4**

With the upcoming month, an old celebration came up requiring Celestia to make an appearance in a nearby town. It was the 300th anniversary of Manehatten. The mayor wanted Celestia to address the town and kickoff the celebration. At the moment, Celestia was sitting in her topless wagon. J had accompanied Celestia and was currently walking alongside the wagon. He sighed.

"What's wrong J?" asked Celestia.

"I don't like the idea of you visiting Manehatten." J said as he kept looking forward.

"J, I've visited Manehatten many times. I just don't understand why you're so paranoid." she said as she rolled her eyes.

"I've been responsible for Isabel for eight years; I have a right to be paranoid." J said as he crossed his arms.

"Alright J, why do you not like the idea of me visiting Manehatten?" asked Celestia.

"It's simply a big city and a big city means there are going to be criminals, big time criminals at that. One of those criminals could have plans to attack you."

It went silent for a few moments before Celestia burst out into laughter.

"You worry too much J." she said as she tried to stop laughing. "I've already sent Shining Armor and several squads of Royal Guards to make sure everything is safe. I also have you with me J, what could possibly go wrong?"

"You tempt fate with those words Princess." J said as he rolled his head to the side.

As he returned his head to its upright position, J could see a large city in the distance.

"I guess that's Manehatten?" J said as he looked over to Celestia.

"You are correct, hop aboard and let us make an entrance."

J turned and quickly boarded the topless wagon as it began to take off. Once seated, the two Royal Guards flapped their wings and the wagon became airborne. The wagon began to fly to the city before circling a few times. Once the wagon was over the middle of the town, the wagon circled once more before descending. Even before the wagon landed, J could hear the loud screams of the ponies on the ground. They only got worse as they landed.

Once on the ground, the wagon stopped and allowed J to get off. He stood to the side of the wagon, taking in his surroundings. They were in some kind of town square and it was filled to the brim with ponies. The only thing separating the ponies from the Princess was a line of Royal Guards. He looked up to Celestia and nodded, signaling for her to step down from the wagon. The Princess stepped off of the wagon and began to walk down the path before them. J had his way beside the Princess and kept his eyes on the crowd. Nothing was suspicious so far; none of the ponies in the crowd looked shady. J kept this up until Celestia reached a small pedestal. Once there, J stepped to the side and took his place next to Celestia.

* * *

In a dark part of a nearby abandoned building, three stallions were discussing something of a malicious nature.

"Alright, I'm going to repeat this one more time, Celestia has already started her speech. The boys are going to handle the guards on the ground. We'll have five minutes at the most before reinforcements arrive. The boys will kill a guard on the ground and start a panic, after that, I want the enforcers to start tossing those fire bombs we made. Try to block the Princess' escape route."

The shadow speaking took a breath before continuing.

"After the firebombs go off, I want the air teams hiding in the clouds to make the biggest storm they can make. In the panic, Celestia and her personal guard should be the only thing standing in our way. We take him out; we'll have the Princess all to ourselves. You guys got that?"

"You got it boss." said one of the other shadows. "I'll get to the air teams."

With that one of the stallions bolted out of the door. Only two shadows remained.

"I'll prep the enforcers boss, we strike as soon as we hear the first scream." said the other shadow.

Quickly, that shadow left the room and went to do his job. Only the single shadow remained in the room now. He turned and stared along the wall. He could clearly make out five other shadows of the stallions he was taking with him to face the Princess.

"Let's go start riot boys."

* * *

J stood to the side as the Princess continued her speech.

"So, let us commemorate this day of celebration to the founding of the great city. I wish everypony a great day of celebration."

With that line, the crowd went wild with a mix of yells and whistles. However, as the crowd died down, a loud scream was heard.

"He's dead!" a pony yelled as the crowd began to back away and form a circle around the fallen pony.

J walked forward and looked out into the crowd. He spotted the golden glint of the Royal Guards armor in the sea of ponies. J turned to Celestia with a grave look.

"It was a Royal Guard." he said as he continued to look at Celestia.

Before she was able to reply, a loud boom echoed throughout the city. Soon, another went off, and then another, and another, until a small fruit stand by the sea of ponies exploded into a ball of fire. Another explosion went off on the other side of the large group. This sent the group of ponies into a frenzy as the fire began to spread. Through this whole event, J remained calm. He noticed that storm clouds were rolling in; he silently hoped that the rain would be enough to put out the flames. However, once the storm clouds collected, the only thing that came from them was lightning that only caused more damage.

J frowned as he turned towards the Princess.

"We need to move Princess; you need to get to safety." J said as he placed a hand on her back.

"Yes, let's get away from here, I should be able to send a letter to my sister and ask her to send reinforcements." said Celestia as she looked to J. "As soon as we're safe, I want you to find the pony responsible and bring them to justice."

"No need to do so Princess, we're right here." said a voice to the side of the two.

J and Celestia turned to see six ponies approach the pedestal with huge smiles plastered on their faces. They were all focused on Celestia, leaving J unseen.

"You're the ones responsible for this attack on my subject?" Celestia asked with a look of disgust on her face.

"Of course my dear Princess." said the stallion in front of the group.

"That's all I needed to know." Celestia turned towards J. "Leave one alive."

"You think your little pony guard can save you Celestia? We'll slit his throat and soon, we'll slit yours." said the stallion as he laughed.

"You underestimate your foe." J said as he walked in front of the stallions with his sword drawn.

The stallion's smile faded once he saw J approach the group.

"What is that thing?" he said as he began to back away. "Get it boys, slit its throat."

The stallions stood there with scared look in their eyes. They looked at one another with a horrified look in their eyes. Eventually, one of the stallions got the courage to try and buck J. As the buck came close to J, he turned to his side and grabbed one of the stallion's back hooves. He then proceeded to flip the stallion over his head and into the concrete, hard. Just to make sure he didn't wake up, J gave the stallion's head a good kick.

He turned back towards the group and raised his sword once more.

"Who's next?" he said as he waited for the next pony to try something.

J heard another stallion snort and begin his charge towards J. J easily dodged the charge and managed to catch the stallion by the throat. It was a simple kill from there; J lifted the stallion up and as quickly as he picked him up, slammed him into the ground. There was a soft choking sound followed by a low gurgle, then silence. J kicked the now lifeless body to the side and looked back to the group of stallions which was now two short.

"Any more volunteers?" J asked as he looked at the small group.

The stallions looked at one another before beginning to make a slowly retreat. J proceeded to take a step closer to the stallions. This caused them to scramble and bolt off into the other direction. The only one that now remained was the stallions that lead the group. He watched as his men slowly fled before turning his vision back towards J. They stood there for a moment, eyes locked, before the stallion got up and bolted in the other direction. J kept his eye on the pony until he disappeared in between the buildings. Once the stallion was gone, J let out a small sigh and turned to Celestia.

"I was afraid of this." he said. "This is why I was paranoid. Even though there was a small chance of this happening, I was afraid it might actually happen."

"I can assure you J, this is the first time this has happened since the old times." said Celestia as she walked over to the unconscious body of the first stallion that attacked J. "This stallion will tell us who attacked us and why, assuming he's not dead."

J nodded and picked up the stallion with one arm. He held out his other arm and turned towards the fire only to find it had already died down. J pulled his hand down and signaled the Princess to follow. With both the stallion and Celestia in tow, J made his way back to the place where the carriage had landed. Once they arrived, they noticed that the carriage was surrounded by Royal Guards. As they approached, Shining Armor appeared from the guards around the carriage and approached Celestia. He bowed and looked up to the Princess.

"Report Captain." Celestia said firmly.

"Riots have broken out all over the city. Many of the locals say it's the work of the SunDowners, a large gang with about two hundred members. Because of their little stunt, we've lost three guards and forty-five citizens." As Shining said the last part, a look of anger crossed his face.

Celestia thanked Shining and turned towards J.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I think you should go back to Canterlot. I'll stay back and see what kind of information I can get from this stallion." he said as he motioned towards the unconscious stallion draped over his shoulder.

The Princess hesitated, she didn't just want to leave her subject in their time of need but she knew that J could handle the problem.

"Ok J, please be careful."

"I will Princess." J said as he smiled. Celestia's motherly attitude towards everypony was heart-warming at times.

As she got in the carriage, Shining Armor motioned several of the guards to accompany the Princess back to Canterlot. Four guards complied with the order and climbed into the carriage with Celestia. Once each guard found a place to sit, the carriage began to pull off. However, Celestia called to the ponies pulling it telling them to stop. The ponies stopped and Celestia turned to J.

"J, if you happen to find the leader of the SunDowners, bring him back alive. I want him to pay for his crimes."

J nodded. "Of course Princess."

With that, the carriage took off towards Canterlot, towards safety. As J watched the carriage fly off, he called out to Shining Armor.

"Shining, find me an empty building, a chair, and some rope. We're going to see what this stallion knows.

* * *

After several minutes of looking, Shining was able to find an empty tool shed on the backside of a nearby building. With a little more looking around, Shining found an old wooden chair and some rope. With everything he needed, J tied the stallion to the chair and looked back to Shining.

"You ask the questions, I'll stand off to the side. Once he wakes up, start asking questions. If he won't cooperate, use my presence as an incentive. We need his name, why the SunDowners did this, and where we can find the boss."

Shining nodded and took his place in front of the stallion while J stood to the side. J then placed his hand on the back of the pony's head and focused his magic. A light blue aura surrounded his hand and disappeared. Suddenly, the stallion tied to the chair began to stir. Slowly, the stallion became more aware of his surroundings and more importantly, Shining Armor.

"I need information from you and you're going to give it to me." Shining said.

"What makes you think I would tell you anything pretty boy." the stallion said as he mocked Shining.

Shining walked up to the chair and turned the chair towards J.

"You tell me what I want to know or I'll let my friend over there conduct this little "interview."

The stallion's eyes widened as he saw J standing against the wall. He turned he head back towards Shining.

"What do you want to know." he said frantically.

Shining turned the chair back to its original position with a large smile on his face.

"Name?"

"My name's Brown." said the stallion.

"Is that your whole name?" asked Shining.

"Yeah, I've had it since the day I was born."

"Alright then, next question. Why did your little gang attack the Princess and the ponies of Manehatten?"

"Sundowner hates the Princesses, he wanted to kill Celestia, recruit more members, and move from city to city until we made it to Canterlot. He wanted to take the throne."

J rolled his eyes, what had originally been a simple assault on the Princess had turned it a huge plot to take over Equestria. J could ever see the Shining roll his eyes.

"I'm assuming that Sundowner is the leader of the SunDowners?" asked Shining.

"Yeah." Brown replied quickly. "Never really knew why he named the gang after himself but I never really cared."

"Alright one more question. Where is Sundowner?"

Brown seemed to hesitate, as if he didn't want to answer that question, now it was J's turn. He walked up to the stallion and placed a hand close to his neck. He leaned down close to Brown's ear.

"I believe you were asked a question, now answer it." he said as he tightened his grip on the pony's neck.

"Alright, alright, Sundowner told us to go back to base if anything went wrong. He's at the old abandoned packing factory a couple blocks from here."

J smiled as his hand glowed with a light blue aura again. Instead of doing as it had done before, it put Brown back to sleep.

"We're done here." J said as he walked away from Brown's unconscious body. "Shining, have somepony keep an eye on him."

Shining nodded and immediately ordered two of his men to watch the body. After that was over Shining looked back to J.

"Alright, we need to find this factory. Just look for the tallest building in the immediate area."

Shining and J walked out of the shed to see a different sight. Hundreds of ponies were rioting on the street.

"This might be a problem." said J as he looked along the horizon for the tallest building. He spotted it and a path to it, there was only one problem.

"Found the building but our path is blocked by rioters."

Shining swore silently and began to look for another path.

"Do you see anything we can use to get across?" he asked J.

J looked around and saw lingering storm clouds from earlier. An idea soon popped into his head.

"I've got an idea."

Shining looked over at J with a confused look.

"What would that be?" he asked.

J raised his right arm and focused on the storm clouds nearby. He moved his arm to the left and the clouds started to follow. J continued to do until the storm clouds were directly overhead. Once in place, J looked for an opening in the crowd. He eventually found an opening right in the middle and closed his hand as quickly as possible. This caused lightning to strike in the open spot followed by a torrent of rain. J kept the clouds in place until the rioters had cleared.

J looked down to see a soaked and very agitated Shining Armor.

"You could have told me you were going to do that." he said as he shook his head in an attempt to get the water out of his mane.

"Oh well" he said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Anyways, get two more of your soldiers and follow me before the rioters come back."

Shining turned and yelled out to the remaining guards in and around the shed.

"Stonehoof, Shield Breaker, you're with us."

J watched as two guards, one burly Earth pony and one pegasus mare, stood in front of Shining.

"Alright, we're ready J." said Shining

J nodded and took off for the path he saw earlier.

* * *

Several back roads and a few alleys later, the group of four made it to the old packing company. It was as Brown said, it was tall but also boarded up. Every window and door had rotten looking wood over them except for the back door.

"This is it." J said as he looked at the sign over the door.

Manehatten Packing Inc.

Do not enter. Building is condemned.

"Everypony ready?" asked J as he looked back at Shining Armor and his soldiers. They all three gave him a firm nod; J then turned and slowly opened the old door.

Once inside, J could hear the faint sound of talking. J stopped the ponies behind him and held a finger to his lip, signaling them to keep quiet.

"I can't believe the plan failed like that! It was all because of Celestia personal guard! How did we not know about that thing!?" said one of the voices.

"What do we do now boss?" asked one of the other voices.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to find that thing and kill it. I've gotten a report from one of the enforcers that it's still in the city. So we find it, we make it suffer, we kill it, and we send its head back to the Princess. Agreed?"

J smiled slightly as he looked back to the three ponies and motioned them closer.

"Alright, I've got a plan." J looked over and saw a large stack of boxes. He pointed to them. "You, Stronghoof, and Shield Breaker hide behind those boxes; I'm going to get their attention. Once they come out and are focused on me, you take attack them from behind. Got it?"

"Loud and clear." said the three ponies silently as they began to make their way over to the boxes.

Once they were in cover, J turned back towards the door and quietly went back out. He closed the door and slowly counted to five. Once he reached five, J pulled his foot up and kicked the door and hard as he could, knocking it off its hinges. J walked in and stood in the doorway for several moments before he heard the shuffling of hooves on the old wooden floor. J then watched as four ponies, two earth ponies, one unicorn, and one pegasus come from a doorway in the back and approached J.

"If it isn't Celestia little bodyguard. Looks like you're at the wrong place at the wrong time." One of the earth ponies walked forward a bit. "But I am glad that you're here, you saved us the trouble of finding you. So we'll give you one chance to give up and maybe we'll kill you quickly."

J facial expression remained the same. "Did you honestly think that you would be able to kill Celestia Sundowner?"

The earth ponies' face changed from a sly smile to a large frown. "She and her sister do not deserve to rule Equestria. They are too weak and soft, they would rather make peace than crush our enemies with the power we wield."

"Powerful and ruthless leaders die violently with the only thing to their name being the sound of hate when it is spoken. Leaders and rules that prefer peace and keep a level head for everything attract those who are willing to give their live to protect theirs. I am one who will give anything to protect those I respect, love, and hold close. I protect them from scum like you and make sure that scum like you get what you deserve."

Sundowner snorted loudly before motioning to the ponies behind him.

"Make sure this thing dies painfully." he said as he continued to stare angrily at J. A moment passed before Sundowner called for the ponies behind him.

"I said make him hurt, boys!" Sundowner yelled once more.

Another moment of silence, this caused Sundowner to snort again. He began to turn around.

"Are you all deaf, I told you to..." As Sundowner turned around, he noticed that the ponies were no longer behind him. His eyes widened as he began to search for the ponies that protected him.

"Are you missing something." said a voice in front of Sundowner. He turned to see J right in front of him. Before he could do anything, Sundowner could feel one of J's hand wrap around his throat and lift him into the air.

"Looks like your entire plan has backfired, what a shame. Look on the bright side though; you'll make a lot of new friends as you rot in the Canterlot dungeons."

"I'd rather die than be captured." Sundowner said as he squirmed in J's grasp.

"Too bad you don't get to make that decision." J said and he balled his right hand into a fist and smashed it into Sundowner's face. With Sundowner out of the picture, J slung the pony's unconscious body over his shoulder and yelled out to his allies.

"He's out cold Shining, bring the others out!"

A moment passed before the sound of bodies being dragged across the floor echoed throughout the empty factory. Suddenly, Shining and his guards, along with the unconscious bodies of Sundowner's companions, walked out from the corner of the room.

"I gotta say J." said Shining as he placed the body at the floor next to J's feet. "That plan worked out perfectly. The look on Sundowner's face was priceless."

"I'm just glad that it was this easy to capture him. You would think that the big boss of a criminal origination would have more protection than a pegasus, earth pony, and a unicorn. Didn't Brown say that they had close to 200 members?" asked Stonehoof.

"If I had to guess, a majority of those ponies are out in the streets causing the riots to continue. They probably don't even know that Celestia is already in Canterlot and their boss has been captured." J said. "Let's get these ponies back to the rest of your men, after that, we can work on stopping the riots."

Shining nodded and the three ponies, each with an unconscious pony in tow, made their way back to the rest of the Royal Guards that remained in Manehatten.

* * *

Once the other members of the SunDowners learned of the fall of their leader, they gave up without any trouble, as if their morale had become almost none existent. As the Royal Guard lined them up to be transported to Canterlot, the ponies of Manehatten gathered around and cheered as the last pony was loaded onto a heavily reinforced wagon. With all of the SunDowners accounted for, the city, although in slight disorder, became peace. Because of the success, Celestia returned to Manehatten in a very happy mood.

"I am amazed at how quick you fixed this J. I thought it would take weeks to stop the citizens from rioting." Celestia said as she jumped out of the carriage and walked over to J.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I've seen this exact same situation Princess. Surprisingly, this instance has been the easiest to manage. I'm just glad that I stopped it before it got out of hand."

Celestia motioned towards her topless carriage. "I believe we have some trials to attend to." she said in a regal manner.

"After you Princess." J said as he held out his arm allowing the Princess to board first. With the Princess on board, J climbed aboard and took a seat as the topless carriage took off into the sky.

* * *

"Alright J, you have some explaining to do." said Isabel as the two traveled through the halls of the Canterlot castle on their way to the throne room. "The guards are talking about how you stopped the gigantic city of Manehatten from rioting while ridding the city of its largest criminal origination. So cough up the details big man." she said with a slight frown on her face.

J was silent for a moment before looking down at Isabel with a smile on his face.

"Remember that crazy Roman Emperor Caligula that waged war against Poseidon?"

"Of course, that man was bat shit crazy, he killed his wife and ate his unborn children, along with some more gruesome acts, but what does this have to do with what I asked you?" asked Isabel.

"This criminal organization in Manehatten had waged a war against Celestia with only 200 ponies within their ranks. Their goal was to take over Equestria."

Isabel looked forward for a moment before looking back to J.

"And we're on our way to that trial?" she asked.

"Indeed we are." J answered.

"Then what are we waiting for J, let's get moving. I want to see this." said Isabel as she broke into a run.

* * *

The trials ended quickly, Celestia and Luna, along with a jury of twenty noble ponies listened to Sundowner's rant about the death of the two princesses for about ten minutes before Celestia stopped him from talking.

"I've had enough of your crazy talk. I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, sentence Sundowner and all of his followers to immediate incarceration in Stalliongrad Maximum Security Prison for a minimum sentence of seventy years."

"What!" shouted Sundowner? "This is not fair; you are a tyrant that always gets her way!"

"To be fair Sundowner." said a pony from the jury. "You attempted to kill a Princess and you murdered three Royal Guards and forty-five citizens of Manehatten. In my eyes, you don't even deserve a trial; you don't even deserve to go to prison. It would be more appealing for you to face the chopping block."

Sundowner didn't respond, he just stood there with an incredibly angry look on his face.

"Does anypony disagree with my sentence?" asked Celestia as she looked around the room. Everypony in the jury along with Luna shook their head. "Since nopony object, your sentence starts now Sundowner. Guards, take him away."

* * *

"I can't believe that Sundowner thought he could take over Equestria." said Shining Armor as he and J walked towards the guard barracks.

"It just goes to show you how far the insane will go to complete their objectives." J said.

"Yeah, at least that's the last we'll be seeing Sundowner and his goons." Shining said.

J narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"Something wrong?" Shining asked.

"Fate is a cruel mistress Shining. The last thing you want to do is offer her a challenge. For she usually accepts and always wins."

Shining looked at J with a confused look. "I don't understand."

"Neither did Celestia."

* * *

**Here's the final bonus chapter for everypony. Enjoy!**

**Sorry for not getting this out sooner, I got too caught up in my new story and family event. Nevertheless, I finally got this chapter finished. If you are wondering what I was talking about when I mentioned a crazed Roman Emperor Caligula, he was a real person and did indeed do the things mentioned in the chapter. Along with some other interesting acts, Caligula's story is a very interesting one and I suggest that you learn more about him. You'll get a laugh out of it, trust me.**

**As for The Shadow of Equestria, I have gotten about six chapters done and expect to post the first chapter some time in the next few weeks. If you want constant updates, go visit my update blog **

** b.l.a.z.i.n.g.i.n.f.e.r.n.o.b.l.o.g..t.u.m.b.l.r.. c.o.m.**

**(Single period means no space between those letters. Two periods is a dot.)**

**Anyways, this is the final chapter I'm posting for this story. So I bid everypony a good day and thank each and every one of you who read this story and review it, liked it, favorite it, etc. Without you guys, this story would have never gotten started in the first place. **

**Thank you, all of you.**

**-Blazing Inferno 65**


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